New Secretary General race begins as UN invites nominations for 2027

The United Nations on Tuesday formally launched the process to select its next Secretary-General, inviting member states to nominate candidates to lead the organisation from January 1, 2027. The move marks the beginning of a high-stakes global search to replace Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term at the end of 2026.

In a joint letter, the 15-member UN Security Council and the President of the 193-member General Assembly opened the nomination window, urging countries to put forward contenders capable of steering the world body through an increasingly turbulent international landscape.

Significantly, the letter emphasised the UN’s long-standing gender imbalance at its top post. “Noting with regret that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General… member states are encouraged to strongly consider nominating women as candidates,” the letter noted, underscoring the need for equal opportunities and regional diversity in the selection process.

Under UN procedures, the Security Council will screen the nominations and recommend one candidate to the General Assembly, which will then hold a vote to elect the 10th Secretary-General sometime next year. The final choice must have the support of all five permanent, veto-wielding Security Council members the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom, a factor that has historically made consensus both politically delicate and strategically complex.

While nominations from governments are still expected in the coming months, several figures have already publicly declared their candidacy:

• Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

• Rebeca Grynspan, former Vice President of Costa Rica and current UNCTAD Secretary-General

• Rafael Grossi, Argentine diplomat and current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

More names are likely to emerge as regions deliberate over preferred candidates, especially amid calls for a woman Secretary-General and a push from some quarters for leadership from the Global South.

The next UN chief will inherit a world body grappling with intensifying geopolitical tensions, ongoing conflicts, climate emergencies, economic instability and the continued fallout of global crises. As the nomination process begins, diplomats acknowledge that the coming year will shape not only the future of the UN but the contours of global cooperation itself.