(U.N Photo-Loey Felipe )
Four candidates to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations will audition for the job this week, far fewer than there were 10 years ago when António Guterres was selected as U.N. chief.
Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet, one of two women and one of three from Latin America, was the first to face ambassadors from the U.N.’s 193 member nations during a three-hour question-and-answer session April 20. Bachelet was to be followed by U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina.
Today, U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan will take center stage in the General Assembly hall, and finally, Senegal’s former President Macky Sall.
The International Crisis Group’s Richard Gowan, a U.N. watcher and program director, said the current geopolitical scene has affected the race to succeed Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31.
He said 10 years ago, many candidates entered the race knowing they had little chance of winning, but used it to raise their profiles.
“There was no real cost associated with losing,” Gowan said. “This time around, potential candidates and the governments who sponsor them are much more cautious. There is a feeling that if a candidate puts a foot wrong and offends Washington or Beijing, it could cause real diplomatic damage.”
In 2016, there was intense pressure to choose the first woman to lead the United Nations. Seven of the 13 candidates were women. But there was widespread agreement that Guterres performed best in what the U.N. calls the “interactive dialogue” with General Assembly members.
The U.N. Charter says little about choosing the secretary-general except that the General Assembly, which includes all members, should do so upon the recommendation of the Security Council. That gives the five permanent members of the U.N.’s most powerful body, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, the decision-making role and veto power over the selection.
By tradition, the secretary-general rotates by region. Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister and U.N. refugee chief representing Europe, succeeded former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who represented Asia. He followed Ghana’s Kofi Annan, who represented Africa.
Now, it should be Latin America’s turn, though Eastern Europe has never had a secretary-general and lost out in 2016.
Bachelet , 74, who was the U.N. high commissioner for human rights after serving two non-consecutive terms as Chile's president, was initially nominated by Chile, Brazil and Mexico. But after Chile’s far-right leader, Jose Antonio Kast, became president in March, his government withdrew its support for Bachelet, a leftist.
Grossi, 65, a former Argentine diplomat who has been director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019, was nominated by his home country.
Grynspan, 70, a former vice president of Costa Rica, has been secretary-general of the U.N. Trade and Development agency, UNCTAD, since 2021 and was also nominated by her country.
Sall, 64, was nominated by Burundi, but his home country, Senegal, told the African Union that it had not endorsed him. Neither did the divided 55-nation regional organization.
While there are only two female candidates, pressure for a madam secretary-general continues, including from Guterres, who has sought to achieve gender equality in his administration. Britain and France have also said they would like to see a woman at the helm.
