Powerful and impoverished nations on the Security Council gave Kofi Annan a unanimous vote of confidence on Wednesday, nominating him for a second five-year term as secretary-general of the United Nations. The official nomination by the 15 council members - more than six months before Annan’s first term expires on 31 December, paved the way for his re-election by the 189-member General Assembly on Friday, AP reported. Traditionally, the United Nations’ top job rotates every 10 years by region, and Africa should, in theory, be handing over to Asia on 1 January. But Annan, the 63-year-old son of a Ghanaian businessman and Ashanti chief, will remain in the job, giving Africa an unprecedented 15 years at the helm of the world body.
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