Race for UN Secretary-General Enters New Phase as Seven Candidates Vie for the Post.
The race to select the next Secretary-General of the United Nations has entered a new phase, with seven official candidates so far nominated to succeed António Guterres, the organization’s current Secretary-General. Four of the candidates are women. The new Secretary-General is expected to begin a five-year term on January 1, 2027.
The four female candidates are Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; María Fernanda Espinosa, former foreign and defense minister of Ecuador and former president of the UN General Assembly; Rebeca Grynspan, former vice president of Costa Rica and Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, former foreign minister of Guyana.
The male candidates include Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency from Argentina; Macky Sall, former president of Senegal; and Olara Otunnu, a Ugandan diplomat and former UN official. Otunnu was nominated by Uganda on July 24, bringing the number of official candidates to seven.
The first informal straw poll by the UN Security Council showed Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica in the lead, followed by Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana and Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina. The poll is part of the Security Council’s consultative process for assessing candidates for the UN secretary-generalship, and its outcome does not by itself determine the final selection.
The UN Secretary-General is elected by the General Assembly based on a recommendation from the Security Council for a five-year term. The selection of the new Secretary-General comes as the United Nations faces a range of international challenges, from armed conflicts and humanitarian crises to climate change and economic issues.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
