South Korea's foreign minister has won the support of the Security Council's five permanent members in an informal vote on the next UN secretary general.
Ban Ki-moon was the only one of six candidates to escape a veto in the informal ballot.
The poll is non-binding but, barring a major surprise, correspondents say Mr Ban looks set to take the top role.
The formal vote will take place on Monday. Kofi Annan's 10-year term in office ends on 31 December.
The Security Council's recommendation will then be passed on to the General Assembly for endorsement.
There is a broad consensus within the UN that an Asian should be the next secretary general, the first since the Burmese U Thant from 1961 to 1971.
Administrator needed
The 62-year-old Mr Ban has won all four of the UN Security Council's informal polls but this was the first time ballots distinguished between the five veto-wielding nations and the other 10 elected members.
"It is quite clear that from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-Moon is the candidate that the Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly," said Chinese ambassador Wang Guangya.
HAVE YOUR SAY
"It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be secretary-general, and I wish Mr Ban every success in that task," he said.
The BBC's Chris Morris at the UN says some believe Mr Ban is too low-key and that the UN needs a higher-profile candidate to lead it through difficult times.
However, the most powerful member states, particularly the US, want a world-class administrator rather than a globe-trotting diplomatic star - and in Mr Ban they may have found their man, he adds.
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