Ban said that after eight men at the helm of the world organization, "it`s high time now."
But the U.N. chief, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31, stressed that the decision on his successor is up to the 15-member Security Council which must recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for its approval.
There are currently 11 candidates to succeed Ban — six men and five women.
He was asked about the possibility of a woman secretary-general at a Los Angeles event last Wednesday and elaborated on it in an Associated Press interview in Novato, California, the following day.
UN chief says he`d like a woman to be next secretary-general
16 August 2016
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he would personally like to see a woman become the next United Nations chief for the first time since the world body was established more than 70 years ago.
