Kevin Rudd appears to have reconciled himself to not becoming the next UN secretary general after the security council announced it had chosen António Guterres, the former Portuguese prime minister, to replace Ban Ki-moon in 2017.
Rudd tweeted his congratulations to Guterres, saying his election was “a tribute to him and Portugal” and that he would have “a great responsibility now for a troubled world”.
Deepest congratulations to Antonio Guterres on election as UN SG.A tribute to him. &Portugal.A great responsibility now for a troubled world pic.twitter.com/NmYFawYOi6
— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) October 5, 2016
The former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark also congratulated her “longtime colleague” Guterres, whose seven years as prime minister and subsequent 10 years as UN high commissioner for refugees overlapped with her nine years in office and seven years as administrator of the UN development program.
Unlike Rudd, Clark was a confirmed candidate in the race.
Congratulations Antonio #Guterres. Clear winner in selection for #NextSG. A longtime colleague: we were Prime Ministers & UN heads together: https://t.co/8FYcXRaYfP
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkUNDP) October 5, 2016
Guterres’s appointment will be confirmed in a formal vote on Thursday, after emerging as a “clear favourite” of all 15 ambassadors during the security council’s sixth straw poll on Wednesday, in a rapid conclusion to what was expected to be a drawn-out selection process.
As late as Tuesday there was speculation Rudd could still slip into the top job via nomination by another country or by the security council itself, despite never being a confirmed candidate.
The impending vote sparked renewed interest in his 10-point plan to reform the UN, outlined in an opinion piece in the Guardian in August.
In July Malcolm Turnbull said he refused to nominate his former opponent for the top job because it was his “considered judgment” the two-time Labor PM was not suited to the role.
Clark, in contrast, received the nomination of the NZ government, and had the popular support of twice as many Australians as Rudd.
