Eight Candidates Vie to Succeed UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Five women and three men are in the race to succeed UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a time of unprecedented global instability, wars and a severe financial crisis facing the United Nations.

With major world powers divided over the next UN chief, observers say it is difficult to determine who is currently leading the race. However, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan emerged as the frontrunner in the first informal poll conducted to gauge support for the candidates.

The other candidates are Rafael Grossi of Argentina, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa; Guyana’s former foreign minister and UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; Ecuadorian diplomat and politician Ivonne A-Baki; Ugandan politician and former UN official Olara Otunnu; and former Senegalese President Macky Sall.

The UN’s next secretary-general will be selected through a process in which the 15-member Security Council recommends a candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

A candidate needs at least nine votes in the Security Council and must avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members—the United States, United Kingdom, China, France and Russia.

Rebeca Grynspan

A former vice president of Costa Rica, Rebeca Grynspan, currently heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She has taken leave from her position to campaign for the top UN post.

Grynspan played a key diplomatic role in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which helped maintain grain exports between Russia and Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The 70-year-old has also highlighted her family history. She is the daughter of Jewish parents who, in her words, “somehow survived” the Holocaust before later emigrating to Costa Rica.

Michelle Bachelet

Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet was imprisoned and subjected to torture during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In 2006, she became Chile’s first woman president.

She later served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position that brought her into conflict with several countries, particularly China. Tensions increased after her office published a report on alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in China.

The 74-year-old Bachelet has said the UN secretary-general must possess a “moral voice” capable of leading the organization despite pressure from major powers.

Mexico and Brazil are supporting her candidacy. Chile withdrew its support after right-wing President José Antonio Kast came to power. Bachelet has also faced criticism from the United States, particularly over her support for abortion rights.

María Fernanda Espinosa

Former Ecuadorian foreign minister María Fernanda Espinosa has described the UN as the world’s only universal platform for addressing common global challenges, while calling for sweeping reforms of the organization.

The 61-year-old previously served as president of the UN General Assembly. She has proposed establishing an early-warning mechanism to identify signs of potential conflict and alert the international community.

Antigua and Barbuda has endorsed her candidacy, although her own country, Ecuador, has not backed her bid.

Rafael Grossi

Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, 65, has headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2019.

His role has placed him at the center of international disputes over Iran’s nuclear program. He has also played a significant role in efforts to monitor the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Grossi has not stepped down from his IAEA position while campaigning for the UN secretary-generalship, arguing that doing so would amount to neglecting his responsibilities.

Some observers believe he has taken a particularly strong position on the need for UN reform and favors a more active role for the secretary-general.

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, 52, is Guyana’s former foreign minister and currently serves as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations.

She has argued that the UN must restore its “credibility” on the global stage.

“From the perspective of peace and security, the UN is judged,” she said, while stressing that the organization’s role extends beyond security to areas including development and human rights.

Ivonne A-Baki

Ivonne A-Baki, 75, is an Ecuadorian diplomat and politician who previously served as Ecuador’s ambassador to Washington. She is regarded as having developed close ties with US President Donald Trump during her tenure.

Nominated by Tonga, A-Baki also has extensive connections in the Gulf region and previously served as Ecuador’s ambassador to Qatar.

The daughter of Lebanese parents, A-Baki played an important role in facilitating dialogue between Ecuador and Peru following their brief border war in 1995.

“I have lived through the devastation of war,” she wrote on social media, saying she was prepared to help renew the UN Charter’s fundamental commitment to protecting future generations from the scourge of war.

Macky Sall

Former Senegalese President Macky Sall, 64, is the only candidate in the race who is not from Latin America. Traditionally, the next UN secretary-general is expected to come from the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Sall has emphasized the connection between peace and development.

He was put forward by Burundi, the current chair of the African Union, and this week ultimately secured the backing of his own country, Senegal.

However, Senegalese authorities have accused his administration of taking a hard line in suppressing violent political protests between 2021 and 2024, during which dozens of people were killed.

Olara Otunnu

Olara Otunnu, 75, served from 1997 to 2005 as the UN under-secretary-general and special representative for Children and Armed Conflict under then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He has also served as Uganda’s ambassador to the United Nations and briefly held the position of Ugandan foreign minister.

Otunnu was the presidential candidate of the opposition Uganda People’s Congress in the 2011 election, but he lost to long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.

With the UN facing mounting geopolitical divisions, armed conflicts and financial pressures, the selection of Guterres’s successor is expected to be closely watched. The final decision will ultimately depend on whether a candidate can secure sufficient support in the Security Council without triggering a veto from any of its five permanent members.