UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has secured a second five-year term at the helm of the United Nations. 

Reuters said his appointment was approved by acclamation by the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday without a vote.

In opening remarks at the assembly, Sven Jürgenson, Estonian ambassador to the UN and current rotating chair of the UN Security Council, said the council earlier
unanimously endorsed Guterres' second term that will run from January 2022 to December 2026. 

In his acceptance speech, the secretary-general said there are too many asymmetries and paradoxes in the international community and they need to be addressed head-on and called for a new era of solidarity and equality.

The 72-year-old served as prime minister of Portugal and head of the UN refugee agency before taking the top UN post, succeeding Ban Ki-moon in January 2017.