The United Nations will be choosing its next Secretary General
this year. Antonio Guterres's replacement will serve a five-year
term starting from the beginning of 2027. But selecting
the next symbol for the United Nations' ideals will be
a complex process. This week, the president of
the world body's General Assembly, Annalina Beyerbach, called
for nominations. It is a choice that will determine
how we address pressing global challenges from conflicts and climate
change to inequality. We need someone who's up to
the task at hand. Who can chart a path
to the future while passionately defending the principles of our
charter? So how does the UN go about choosing
its next Secretary General and might it finally get a
female leader? Candidates first have to be nominated by
UN member states by April 1st this year. Nominees
will then take part in so-called interactive dialogues, which
will be broadcast online. That gives them a chance
to present their vision and take questions. So far
, only one candidate has been formally nominated. Rafael
Grossi is a veteran Argentine diplomat who serves as Director
General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Two other
publicly declared candidates have yet to be formally nominated.
Former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet also previously served as
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, while Rebecca
Grinspan is the former vice president of Costa Rica and
currently serves as Secretary General of the UN Conference on
Trade and Development. Both potential candidates will be nominated
by their home countries. In the UN's eighty-year history
, no woman has ever served as Secretary-General, but
in the resolution adopted in September, The General Assembly
encouraged countries to quote, strongly consider nominating women as
candidates, though Greenspan says that's not helpful. We
don't need a special treatment. What we are really
asking, what we are really asking for is not
discrimination. Once member states have put up their nominations
, the UN's 15-member Security Council steps in. It
will hold secret ballots called straw polls until a consensus
is reached on a candidate. Ultimately, the 5
permanent veto-wielding council members must agree on a candidate.
That process could take multiple ballots, as was seen
with Guterres's appointment. After our 6th straw poll,
we have a clear favorite, and his name is
Antonio Guterres. The Security Council's choice then has to
be approved by the General Assembly, though that's usually
a formality. The UN Charter calls the Secretary General
, the chief administrative officer of the world body.
Currently, the UN Chief oversees thousands of civilian staff
and 11 peacekeeping operations. The core annual United Nations
budget is$3.45 billion while the peacekeeping budget is$5.4
billion. Only the Security Council can authorize military force
or sanctions, while the UN Secretary General can merely
advocate action. Many diplomats say the five Security Council
veto powers prefer a secretary rather than a general.