The Campaign to Elect a Woman UN Secretary-General, a group of mostly academics who supported the female candidates up for nomination, called the decision by the UN Security Council an "outrage".
In August, the outgoing UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said it was "high time" for a female head, after more than 70 years of the UN and eight male leaders.
Elsewhere, Bulgarian opposition parties called for the country's Prime Minister to resign after neither of the country's two female candidates for the post - including European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva - ended up getting the job.
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Despite Guterres' breadth of appeal and experience, many had hoped the top job would go to a woman.
Out of 13 candidates, seven were women; some arguably even more experienced than Guterres.
On Monday, Solomon Passy, a former foreign Minister in Bulgaria, said, "The failure of the two candidates constitutes the most resounding failure in Bulgarian foreign policy."
Bulgaria's other candidate was Irina Bokova, the UNESCO head.
But despite its candidates being eastern European and women, seen as two important criteria this time, 13 of the UN Security Council's 15 members backed Guterres.
In spite of the criticism, the Party of European Socialists said it "warmly welcomed" the choice of Guterres, a former President of Socialist International.
PES President Sergei Stanishev, a former Bulgarian Prime Minister, said: "He has our full support in this great challenge. His background as a High Commissioner for Refugees provides him with a unique sensitivity and perspective to address the challenges our world is facing. He is a good politician and good man. I am sure that in the future we all will be talking about 'Guterres era' in the UN."
Guterres was the Prime Minister of Portugal for two terms and is credited by some with achieving economic progress with a particular emphasis on redistribution.
As United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees he was a defender of human rights and warned about ongoing worldwide migration.
Stanishev said: "He is the right person for the job, his character and his way of making politics, always reaching out for other people's opinion, is just what an office like the UN Secretary General requires."