Former Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Guterres, to be sworn in on Today as the next UN Secretary General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon as the ninth chief of the 71-year old world body. President of the UN General Assembly, Peter Thomson will administer the Oath of Office to Antonio Guterres, 67, at a specially convened plenary meeting of the 193-member General Assembly.

Guterres will assume his new role for a five-year term from January 1, 2017. The former Portuguese Prime Minister and UN High Commissioner for Refugees had remained as the front-runner in the election to choose Ban’s successor.

“I am fully aware of the challenges the UN faces and the limitations surrounding the Secretary-General,” Guterres had said in his first address to the General Assembly following his appointment as the 9th Secretary General of the UN.

He had said that the dramatic problems of today’s complex world can only inspire a “humble approach, one in which the Secretary-General alone neither has all the answers, nor seeks to impose his views. One in which the Secretary-General makes his good offices available, working as a convener, a mediator, a bridge-builder and an honest broker to help find solutions that benefit everyone involved.”

In the special plenary meeting, speakers will pay tribute to Ban. Among those paying tributes will be Thomson and Representatives from Burkina Faso who will speak on behalf of the African States, Lao People’s Democratic Republic will speak on behalf of the Asia-Pacific States, Latvia will speak on behalf of the Eastern European States, Costa Rica will speak on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States, Sweden will speak on behalf of the Western European and other States and the United States of America will speak in its capacity as the host country.

After being administered the Oath of Office the Secretary-General-designate will address the General Assembly.

By Premji