Seven candidates vie to succeed Guterres as UN secretary-general

Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu has officially entered the race for the next United Nations secretary-general, after being nominated by his country to succeed Portugal’s Antonio Guterres, whose second term ends later this year.

According to an official letter from Uganda to the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, Otunnu is now the seventh candidate competing to lead the international organization.

At 75, Otunnu is the oldest contender and brings extensive UN experience, having served as Under-Secretary-General and as the secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict.

In his vision statement for the role, Otunnu pledged to continue reforming UN institutions, with a focus on resolving major international conflicts.

He also called for the creation of a UN body to oversee artificial intelligence activities and for tackling climate change without hindering economic development.

With Otunnu’s entry, the official list of candidates now includes: International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan, former Ecuadorian foreign minister María Fernanda Espinosa, former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, former Senegalese president Macky Sall, and Otunnu himself.

Informal rounds of voting are set to begin this week within the 15-member Security Council, aiming to narrow the field before agreeing on a single nominee to be submitted to the General Assembly for approval.

The nomination process remains open, allowing for the possibility of additional candidates in the coming period.

Diplomats note that no clear frontrunner has emerged so far, with increasing calls for a Latin American secretary-general and for the first woman to hold the post.

The decisive factor remains the ability of a candidate to avoid a veto from any of the five permanent Security Council members: the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France.