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Annan to Seek Second Term as Secretary-General
After months of speculation, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Thursday that he will seek a second five-year term at the helm of the world body.
"If asked, I am ready to serve," Annan said, officially letting the world in on the worst-kept secret at the United Nations.
Last week, the secretary-general, who is from Ghana, got a strong endorsement from the 53-nation African group at the United Nations. The group urged him to run and pledged to campaign for him.
With Annan running, the two key questions now are whether Asian nations also will submit a candidate, and who will get the support of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council ¡ª the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
By tradition, the secretary-general's job rotates every 10 years by region, and it's now Asia's turn to propose a candidate.
But Africa's 10-year term was split after the United States successfully lobbied to prevent Annan's predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, from taking a second term. And a quiet campaign has been under way for months to pressure Annan to stay in the job for another five years, because he is highly regarded by many nations.
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