Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres is expected to become the next UN secretary general.
Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, tweeted today to say the organisation's Security Council is 'united' around Mr Guterres to take up the position.
Breaking: UN Security Council united around choice for next Secretary-General—Antonio Guterres. pic.twitter.com/phMxjLb9OI
— Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) October 5, 2016
A secret ballot of the 15 UN Security Council members found no objection to Mr Guterres.
BBC reports that a formal vote on the appointment will take place tomorrow.
Mr Guterres was prime minister of Portugal between 1995 and 2002. He also served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees for ten years, with his term ending last December.
Ban Ki-moon has served two terms as UN Secretary General following his election in 2007. His second term is due to end on December 31st, with the next secretary general to take over from January 1st.
The selection of Mr Guterres will bring to an end what was expected to be a longer nomination process.
The latest candidate for the position - Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva, vice-president of the European Commission - only entered the race last week.
She took to Twitter this afternoon to congratulate Mr Guterres.
Congratulations to Antonio Guterres - the #nextSG! Best of luck in pursuing an ambitious agenda for the UN.
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) October 5, 2016
