Antonio Guterres will be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, following a vote by the Security Council to choose the organisation's new leader, The Telegraph reports.
Guterres, 66, former prime minister of Portugal and head of the UN refugee agency, will take over from Ban Ki-moon in January.
The decision was made in a straw poll, held in New York yesterday morning.
Guterres's candidacy was not vetoed by any of the permanent five members of the Security Council. It will now be formally approved by the General Assembly.
The Portuguese politician said he was "honoured and happy."
He takes over at a tough time for the UN, with crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya  dominating the headlines, and global concerns over refugees and migration.
Guterres's experience in refugee issues won him support at the global organisation.
Matthew Rycroft, Britain's ambassador to the UN, said he was "delighted" at the result, and described Mr Guterres as "exactly the strong Secretary-General the UN needs."
The selection process for the new Secretary-General was more open than ever before in the 70-year history of the UN.
The 13 candidates had to submit detailed proposals for their work, and appear before the General Assembly to outline their plans.
Britain and the United States were particularly vociferous in calling for a woman to take the job for the first time in UN history.
Half of the 10 candidates who remained until Wednesday's decision were women, but none of them were able to garner the support of all the members of the Security Council.