The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday officially appointed Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres as the secretary-general of the global body. All 193 members adopted the resolution by acclamation, PTI reported.

The UN Security Council had selected the 67-year-old to succeed current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a meeting of its 15 members on October 5. He will take over as the 9th secretary-general after Ban's tenure ends on December 31. The Portuguese leader's term will continue till December 31, 2022.

Guterres had served as the UN high commissioner for refugees from 2005 to 2015. After his selection was announced last week, he had said he would work for those most vulnerable, including victims of conflict, human rights violations, poverty and terrorism. Ban had described his selection as "superb".