Portugal's former PM Antonio Guterreson Thursday expressed "gratitude" on being selected as the next UN chief, vowing to serve the "most vulnerable" with "humility" when he takes up the post.
"To describe what I feel at the present moment, two words are sufficient: gratitude and humility," Guterres said in a brief speech to the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in lisbon.
Guterres, 67, was making his first remarks following the Security Council's unanimous decision recommending him to the General Assembly as the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In remarks that were streamed live, Guterres said he was "moved" when the Security Council decided in "unity and consensus" and "in a very quick way" to select him as the successor to Ban Ki-moon.