A new Secretary-General of the United Nations will be elected next year for a five-year term beginning on January 1, 2027.
These are the potential candidates so far and how the successor to current UN chief Antonio Guterres will be chosen:
When does the process begin?
The race will formally begin when the 15-member Security Council and the president of the 193-member General Assembly send a joint letter requesting nominations.
That letter should be sent by the end of the year. A candidate must be nominated by a UN member state.
The position traditionally rotates between regions, but when Guterres, who is 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 expect candidates from other regions.
Who wants to be the next secretary general?
Although the race does not formally begin until the letter is sent by the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, there are already several publicly declared candidates:
michelle bachelet
Chile will nominate 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 twice as president of the South American nation. Bachelet was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2018-2022 and executive director of UN Women between 2010-2013.
Rebecca Grynspan
Costa Rica will nominate former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, President Rodrigo Chaves said on October 8, 2025. Grynspan, a 69-year-old politician and economist, currently serves as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Rafale Grossi
Grossi has long said he was considering campaigning to be secretary general. When asked about Reuters On September 3, 2025, if he was definitely going to run, he said: “Yes, I’m going to do it, yes.” Grossi, a veteran Argentine diplomat, 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 election as the 10th UN secretary-general late next year.
The Security Council will hold secret votes, known as informal polls, until a consensus is reached on a candidate. The options given to council members for each candidate in the survey are: encourage, discourage, or no opinion.
Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members (the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France) must agree on a candidate.
Ballots for veto powers in polls are traditionally a different color than those of the 10 elected members. When Guterres was elected in 2016 to be recommended to the General Assembly, it took six polls for the Security Council to reach an agreement.
The Security Council then adopts a resolution, traditionally behind closed doors, recommending an appointment to the General Assembly. The resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes to be approved.
The General Assembly’s approval of the appointment of a secretary general has long been considered a rubber stamp.
How transparent is the process?
The United Nations has been working to improve the transparency of the historically opaque selection process.
The General Assembly, in a resolution adopted in September 2025, said each candidate must provide a vision statement when formally nominated and have the opportunity to present it. He said the vision statement should also be published on a dedicated United Nations web page.
The Assembly said each candidate should disclose their sources of funding and that any candidate already holding a UN post “should consider suspending their work in the UN system during the campaign, with a view to avoiding any conflict of interest that may arise from their adjacent roles and benefits.”
What does the general secretary do?
The UN Charter calls the secretary-general the “administrative director” of the world body. The UN website describes the role as “equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and executive director.”
Guterres currently oversees more than 30,000 civilian officials and 11 peacekeeping operations with around 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 say the council’s five veto powers prefer a “secretary” to a “general.”
Has a woman ever been general secretary?
No. There is growing momentum for the United Nations to elect 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 the nomination of women as candidates.”
