Antonio Guterres sworn in as UN Secretary General

Antonio Guterres has sworn in as the ninth UN Secretary-General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon as the chief of the 71-year-old world body. Guterres was Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. At a special plenary meeting of the General Assembly, the Oath of Office to Guterres was administered by the President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson. Guterres would begin his five-year term beginning January 1, 2017, as Ban’s second five-year term ends on December 31, 2016. After swearing in ceremony, Guterres has vowed to reform the world body by making it decentralised and flexible to improve its ability to respond to global crises. Guterres is the first former head of government to be elected to the top post of the world body.