UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Both 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 Dec. 31 - paves the way for his re-election Friday by the 189-member General Assembly, now just a formality.
The speed and ease of Annan's nomination was a far cry from 1996 when the United States blocked his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali from serving another five years. The Egyptian was perceived as anti-American in Washington.
After announcing his candidacy in March, Annan quickly won support from the five veto-wielding council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - which is the key to victory, as well as from every regional group.
Traditionally, the U.N.'s top job rotates every 10 years by region, and Africa should - in theory - be handing over the spacious office on the 38th floor of the U.N. Secretariat building to Asia on Jan. 1. But Annan, the 63-year-old son of a Ghanian businessman and Ashanti chief, will remain in the job, giving Africa an unprecedented 15 years at the helm of the world body.
``I am deeply honored by the vote that has just taken place in the Security Council and I'm grateful for the trust and the support they have given me,'' Annan said shortly after the vote was announced.
Bangladesh's U.N. Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, the current council president, said the decision was a ``recognition of the very excellent work that Kofi Annan has done.''
The often divided council united in praising Annan's leadership over the past 41/2 years. On his watch, the United Nations recovered from peacekeeping disasters in the early 1990s and assumed a new role in helping to resolve conflicts in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Annan has also tackled U.N. reform, spearheaded an overhaul of peacekeeping operations, and focused global attention on poverty, human rights abuses, Africa's conflicts, and the AIDS epidemic - spotlighted at an unprecedented three-day U.N. conference that concludes Wednesday.
But he has also been criticized by some for trying to negotiate with Saddam Hussein, for standing by as U.N. peacekeepers were kidnapped by Sierra Leone rebels, and for promoting a new policy of ``humanitarian intervention,'' which many countries view as an infringement on their sovereignty.
While noting that ``there's always room for improvement'' in his own performance, Annan said the challenge ahead is to galvanize U.N. member states to join in meeting targets set at last September's Millennium Summit. These include sending every child to primary school, delivering millions from destitution, and halting the spread of AIDS by 2015.
Many diplomats and analysts say Annan remains the best person to do this because he is a consensus builder.
Annan's ``reasonableness ... has had a calming effect on the consideration of a good number of issues,'' said Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under former President Reagan.
``I can, for example, imagine the discussion of AIDS in Africa having developed in a fully, progressively partisan, polarized manner,'' she said.
Other council members said Annan's overwhelming support raises expectation for his second term.
China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Yingfan said the council vote shows that ``he should do more, to contribute more to a greater role for the United Nations.'' Colombia's U.N. Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso said it was very important ``to take advantage of his leadership in the international community to push more and more initiatives.''
_______________________________________________________
PHOTO CAPTION

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan makes a point as he talks to reporters at a news conference about the General Assembly's special session on HIV and AIDS, June 27, 2001 at U.N. headquarters in New York. The U.N. Security Council earlier in the day recommended that Annan be given a second five-year term in office. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen
___________________________________________________