Why Guterres and Haley Are Set to Become the U.N.’s Odd Couple

Why Guterres and Haley Are Set to Become the U.N.’s Odd Couple
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley at U.N. headquarters, New York, Jan. 27, 2017 (AP photo by Bebeto Matthews).

Are Antonio Guterres and Nikki Haley set to be New York’s new power couple? The future of the United Nations may rest on the duo’s personal and political chemistry.

Guterres has only been U.N. secretary-general since the start of the year, and Haley began work as U.S. representative to the U.N. last week. But diplomats are watching both of them like hawks—and like what they see so far.

Guterres is a bundle of energy, intent on energizing the U.N. Secretariat after an era of enforced lethargy under Ban Ki-moon. Haley is a voice of calm, signaling to her foreign counterparts that she wants to work constructively with them, despite the utter chaos surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump.

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