Who are the candidates for the post of UN Secretary-General?

2026-07-28 15:23:45, Kosova & Bota CNA

The 10th Secretary-General of the United Nations will be elected this year for a five-year term, starting on January 1, 2027.

Below are the candidates who have so far announced their candidacy to succeed the outgoing UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Rafael Grossi, 65, a career diplomat from Argentina, has been the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - the UN's nuclear watchdog - for the past six years.

Grossi led negotiations to preserve parts of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran after US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from that agreement in 2018.

His critics say he has made too many concessions in an attempt to reach a deal with Iran.

A father of eight who speaks several languages, Grossi has raised his own profile and that of the IAEA through diplomatic engagement in international crises.

One of his most important achievements is considered to be the deployment of a small IAEA team to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is under the control of Russian forces.

Many diplomats see Gross as the favorite for the post of UN secretary-general, as for years he has maintained good relations with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, whose support is crucial for election to this post.

Rebecca Grynspan, 70, presents herself as a supporter of reforms in the multilateral system, who throughout her career has challenged gender barriers and maintained faith in the United Nations and its mission of peace, development and human rights.

Former vice president of Costa Rica and director of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Grynspan said she has temporarily stepped down from her duties until September to avoid a conflict of interest during the campaign.

If elected, she would become the first woman in the history of the UN to hold the post of secretary-general.

According to her, although during her time at UNCTAD she was forced to make compromises between family life and public service, the experience as the first woman to head this institution has influenced her leadership style.

"I don't expect special treatment. I want equal treatment," she told Reuters news agency.

An economist by profession, Greenspan describes herself as an "experienced leader" who would lead the UN more flexibly, through cooperation with different partners, while at the same time defending the organization's core values.

Michelle Bachelet, 74, is a two-time president of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

She also headed, from 2010 to 2013, the UN agency for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women.

Although her candidacy was supported by Brazil and Mexico, in March Chile withdrew its support for Bachelet, following the country's government's shift to the right.

Bachelet has faced criticism from American conservatives for her stance in support of abortion rights.

In April, the United States ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, joining the concerns of a US senator, implied that he did not consider her suitable for the post.

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts stated that Bachelet, during her term as High Commissioner for Human Rights, did not do enough to characterize China's actions against Uyghur Muslims as genocide.

Beijing, on the other hand, has not made public its position on her candidacy.

Macky Sall, 64, a geologist by profession, was president of Senegal for 12 years, until 2024.

Sall has pledged to support developing countries facing high debt levels and has called for reform of the UN Security Council so that developing countries have permanent seats on the organization's most powerful body.

"More than ever, a renewed multilateralism remains the best way to respond to the challenges of a world undergoing profound transformations," he wrote on the social network X.

Sall is nominated by Burundi.

If elected, he would become the third African secretary-general of the UN, after Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, 61, was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense in Ecuador, during the government of former President Rafael Correa.

Her candidacy was submitted by Antigua and Barbuda.

Espinosa has also advised the United Nations and non-governmental organizations on issues related to biodiversity, climate change, and policies for indigenous peoples.

She says that her experience as Ecuador's ambassador to the UN and as president of the UN General Assembly has given her deep knowledge of the functioning of the organization.

"I offer a candidacy based on a simple conviction: the UN must regain the courage to set priorities, the discipline to implement them, and the political confidence to act decisively," she stated in the document presenting her vision./Rel