Secretary-General selection process begins at UN

Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.

The search for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations launched Tuesday, as member states were invited to send nominations to replace Antonio Guterres for the term starting in 2027.

In a letter from UN leaders to 193 member states, the 80-year-old global intergovernmental organization is seeking candidates with extensive experience in international relations, diplomacy and language skills.

“The position of Secretary-General is one of great importance and one that requires the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity and a firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” said the joint letter from Sierra Leone ambassador and current Security Council president Michael Imran Kanu and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.

Some member states are advocating for a woman to be selected, and in its letter UN leadership noted “with regret that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General” and called on members “to strongly consider nominating women.”

Some names that are already in the mix include former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, the Argentinian International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi, and Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, who is currently leading the UN agency for trade and development (UNCTAD).

Candidates must be presented by a state or group of states, and submit a vision statement and list funding sources.

There is a tradition of geographical rotation, which would make it Latin America’s turn this time around, but it’s not always followed. The letter notes “the importance of regional diversity” without specifying a required area.

Candidates may undergo public interviews, a transparency procedure first used during the 2016 selection that let to Guterres’ first term.

Security council members will begin the formal selection process by the end of July, and the five permanent members with veto power -- United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France -- hold the candidate’s future in their hands.

Once the Security Council makes its recommendation, the Assembly can elect the Secretary-General to a five-year term that begins January 1, 2027, and is renewable once.