- Former Portuguese PM Antonio Guterres was elected UN Secretary General - He is considered friendly to Israel and was close to Peres
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Guterres is a a vocal advocate for refugees
United Nations, Oct.7.─ Incoming United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been and will always be a friend of Israel, former Israeli officials who have met with him told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Guterres came to Israel in 1993 as secretary-general of the Portuguese Socialist Party and leader of Portugal’s opposition.
He met with then-foreign minister Shimon Peres and then-industry and trade minister Micha Harish.
Following the visit, Guterres remained in close contact with Peres and former prime minister Ehud Barak, who both served under him in top posts in the Socialist International. Peres and Barak paid official visits to him in Portugal during their respective terms as prime minister, while he served as Portuguese prime minister.
“He was friendly and was definitely not part of the extreme Left in Europe,” Harish said ...
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