Deadline for applications for new UN Secretary General ends, four candidates in the race

The informal deadline set by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, for UN member states to submit nominations for the new UN Secretary General has expired, and according to data from the organization’s website, there are officially four candidates in the race to succeed Antonio Guterres: Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, and Macky Sall.

Grossi is the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a former diplomat, nominated by Argentina.

Bachelet is the former President of Chile, initially nominated by Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, but Chile later informed the UN on March 24 that it was withdrawing its nomination. She is now a candidate of Brazil and Mexico.

Grynspan Mayufis is the Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development and was nominated by Costa Rica, while Sall, former President of Senegal, was nominated by Burundi.

Sall is the only candidate from outside Latin America, the region from which, according to regional rotation, this year’s UN chief is expected to be selected.

The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, asked UN member states to nominate candidates by April 1 so they could participate in the so-called interactive dialogues in the week starting April 20, which will be broadcast online.

Three weeks ago, the UN also received the nomination of Argentina’s Virginia Gamba, submitted by the Maldives, but it was withdrawn after 14 days.

In a letter signed by Baerbock last November, which initiated the process of selecting the next UN Secretary General, it is stated that any UN member state nominating a candidate may withdraw the nomination at any point during the process.

The letter also notes that no woman has ever served as Secretary General, and UN member states were invited to seriously consider nominating women.

The selection process is expected to conclude in the autumn, when the Security Council should formally nominate a candidate and the General Assembly appoint them.

The new Secretary General will take office on January 1, 2027, for a five-year term.

Whether regional rotation in selecting the head of the global organization has always been respected and what challenges await the successor to Antonio Guterres were recently addressed by Kosovo Online in the analysis “Race for the new UN Secretary General – what will be decisive in the selection?”.