The selection of António Guterres as Secretary-General shows Security Council horse-trading still trumps transparency at the UN

Former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Guterres, is expected to be appointed as the next UN Secretary-General later today, replacing Ban Ki-Moon, who will step down at the end of the year. As Katie Verlin Laatikainen outlines, the selection process adopted to select Ban Ki-Moon’s successor was intended to be more transparent than in previous years, but the appointment of Guterres will nevertheless leave some observers disappointed as there had been hopes that either a female or Eastern European candidate would take on the position for the first time.