Guterres had been the rumored frontrunner for months, but the selection still came as a bit of a surprise because many UN diplomats and observers believed that Moscow would only accept a candidate from Eastern Europe. (The current UN head, Ban Ki-moon, comes from South Korea; Ban’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, was from Ghana.)
In the end, Guterres, a consummate UN insider, easily beat out other top contenders like Argentinian Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, either of whom would have been the first woman to lead the world body.
Guterres’s victory was hailed by UN watchers, who describe Guterres in glowing terms. Formerly the UN high commissioner on refugees, Guterres is well-liked, with a reputation for being eloquent and outspoken on human rights. He also has a history of challenging powerful countries to do more to help the vulnerable rather than deferring to them. It’s a bold choice for an organization better known for making the safe one. [...]
“He consistently positioned himself as the voice of world refugees; a sort of moral center who would put his own career prospects on the line by calling out powerful countries,” Mark Leon Goldberg, a journalist at UN Dispatch who covers the world body closely, writes. [...]
A key qualification of Guterres is his skill for public outreach — his ability to make a case for refugees and the need to assist refugees that grabs the attention of the world. Public advocacy isn’t the strong suit of Ban, a soft-spoken diplomat who chooses his words carefully and is, to his critics, far too hesitant to criticize major powers like Washington and Moscow. [...]
“The first UN secretary general, Trygve Lie, describe it as ‘the most impossible job in the world,’” Bosco says. “You have all of this demand that the organization respond — but you don’t have the power to make [it].”
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