The United Nations Security Council has elected the world body’s ninth Secretary-General, the former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres. But the race for the hot seat is a contest that requires hardwork and behind-the-scene manouevring. India's Congress Party politician and one-time UN Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor who contested for the post in 2006 and narrowly lost the race to Ban Ki-moon recalls the race that featured a sitting president (Latvia’s VairaVike-Freiberga), a future president (Afghanistan’s Ashraf Ghani), a deputy prime minister (Thailand’s Surakiart Sathirathai), a prince (Jordan’s Zaid al-Raad al-Hussein) and an experienced ambassador (Sri Lanka’s Jayantha Dhanapala, a friend India might have been happy to support had we felt he had the slightest chance) and him.
Read the the inside story of how Tharoor lost the race for the UN Secretary-General's Job in 2006
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