In the UN Security Council's unofficial vote in New York on 28th September the officially nominated candidate from the Baltic States for the post of UN Secretary General, President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga ranked in the high third position. V. Vīķe-Freiberga, who in the record-short time since the official nomination had gathered 7 votes, expresses her gratification for the received support and thanks all supporters of her candidacy both from the Eastern European region and beyond, who had found the provided argumentation convincing. After this vote the President expresses particular gratitude to the heads of state and government of Lithuania and Estonia, as well as to the government of Latvia for the solidarity of the Baltic States and the declaration of joint principles that are necessary in the work of UN.
Non-governmental organisation www.UNSG.org, which closely follows the process of the nomination of UN Secretary general, said the following about the President of Latvia's achievement:
"But it was Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga that achieved the surprise victory, pushing pasttheother challengers to secure an impressive if notstrong third place standing.On top ofbeing the only non-Asian in the race,thiswas an outstanding showing fora candidate that entered the race less than two weeks ago." (Read more at: www.UNSG.org)
It is known that next time the UN Security Council will voice its opinion on the candidates on Monday, 2nd October.