A new United Nations secretary-general will be elected next year for a five-year term starting January 1, 2027.
Here are the potential candidates so far and how the successor to current UN chief Antonio Guterres will be chosen:
When does the process start?
The race will officially begin when the 15-member Security Council and the president of the 193-member General Assembly send a joint letter seeking nominations.
This letter should be sent by the end of the year. A candidate must be nominated by a UN member state.
The position is traditionally split between regions, but when Guterres – who is originally from Portugal – was elected in 2016, it was supposed to be Eastern Europe’s turn. Next on the list is Latin America; however, some diplomats are expecting candidates from other regions.
Who wants to be the next general secretary?
Even though the race only officially begins after the sending of the letter from the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, several candidates have already been publicly declared:
Michelle Bachelet
Chile will appoint the country’s former president, Michelle Bachelet, President Gabriel Boric said on September 23, 2025. Bachelet was Chile’s first female head of state and served as president of the South American nation twice. Bachelet served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2018 and 2022 and executive director of UN Women between 2010 and 2013.
Rebecca Grynspan
Costa Rica will appoint former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, President Rodrigo Chaves said on October 8, 2025. Grynspan, a 69-year-old politician and economist, is currently secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Burst Magnified
Grossi has long said he planned to campaign for secretary general. Asked by Reuters on September 3, 2025, if he was definitely going to run, he said, “Yes, I will, yes.” A seasoned Argentine diplomat, Grossi is director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a position he has held since 2019.
What is the process?
The 15-member Security Council will formally recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for the election of the 10th UN secretary-general later next year.
The Security Council will conduct secret ballots – known as straw polls – until consensus is reached on a candidate. The choices given to board members for each candidate in the glitter poll are: encourage, discourage or have no opinion.
Ultimately, the five permanent members of the Council with veto power – the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France – must agree on a candidate.
The veto ballots in the straw poll are traditionally a different color from those of the 10 elected members. When Guterres was chosen in 2016 for recommendation to the General Assembly, it took six random polls for the Security Council to reach an agreement.
The Security Council then adopts a resolution, traditionally behind closed doors, recommending a nomination to the General Assembly. The resolution requires nine votes in favor and no vetoes to pass.
Approval by the General Assembly of the appointment of a Secretary General has long been considered a mere formality.
How transparent is the process?
The United Nations is working to improve the transparency of the historically opaque selection process.
The General Assembly, in a resolution adopted in September 2025, said each candidate should provide a vision statement upon formal nomination and be given the opportunity to present it. He said the vision statement should also be published on a dedicated United Nations webpage.
The Assembly said each candidate should disclose their sources of funding and that all candidates who already hold a UN position “should consider suspending their work in the United Nations system during the campaign, with a view to avoiding any conflict of interest that may arise from their functions and the benefits that flow from them.”
What does the general secretary do?
The United Nations Charter refers to the secretary-general as the “administrative director” of the world body. The UN website describes the role as that of “equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and director-general”.
Guterres currently oversees more than 30,000 civilian personnel and 11 peacekeeping operations with approximately 60,000 soldiers and police. The annual core budget of the United Nations is $3.7 billion, while the peacekeeping budget is $5.6 billion.
Since the power to authorize military force or sanctions rests with the Security Council, the UN chief has little more than a bully pulpit. Many diplomats argue that the Council’s five veto powers prefer a “secretary” rather than a “general.”
Has a woman ever been general secretary?
No. There is growing pressure for the United Nations to choose the first female secretary-general in its 80-year history.
In the resolution adopted in September, the General Assembly noted “with regret that no woman has ever served as Secretary-General” and encouraged countries to “seriously consider nominating women as candidates.”
