New York, November 9 (ANI): The process to elect the next, or 10th, secretary-general of the United Nations is underway, with 11 candidates in the running. The new secretary-general is scheduled to take office in January 2027.
“The 10th Secretary-General of the United Nations will take office in January 2027. Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu of Türkiye is now the eighth candidate in the running for the role. Learn more about the candidates and the selection process,” the United Nations in India said in a post on X on Monday.
Eleven nominations have been received so far. They include Ivonne A-Baki, nominated on August 17, 2026; Michelle Bachelet Jeria, nominated on February 2, 2026, whose nomination was withdrawn on September 21, 2026; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, nominated on May 11, 2026; Virginia Gamba, nominated on March 11, 2026, whose nomination was withdrawn on March 25, 2026; Rafael Mariano Grossi, nominated on November 26, 2025; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, nominated on March 3, 2026; Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, nominated on October 21, 2026; Olara Otunnu, nominated on July 24, 2026; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, nominated on June 15, 2026; Macky Sall, nominated on March 2, 2026, whose nomination was withdrawn on October 20, 2026; and Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, nominated on November 1, 2026.
According to the UN website, the process of selecting and appointing the next secretary-general is based on General Assembly resolutions and guided by the principles of transparency and inclusivity.
“On September 5, 2025, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 79/327 on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, which sets out the process for the selection and appointment in line with Article 97 of the Charter of the United Nations. Resolution 79/327 builds on previous related resolutions, which introduced significant improvements to the selection and appointment process of the Secretary-General,” the UN portal stated.
Under the process, a joint letter from the president of the General Assembly and the president of the Security Council formally initiates the selection procedure.
Candidates are nominated by a member state or a group of member states and are required to submit a vision statement, curriculum vitae and campaign financing disclosures.
The president of the General Assembly also convenes webcast interactive dialogues with all candidates and engages closely with member states in a transparent and inclusive manner.
The selection process was formally initiated through a joint letter addressed to member states by the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council on November 25, 2025.
The letter, also published as A/80/544-S/2025/765, invited member states to submit nominations and outlined the principles governing the selection process and its proposed schedule.
“The President of the General Assembly informed Member States about the Joint Letter and the coordination with the President of the Security Council in a separate letter,” the UN website added.
Regarding candidate nominations, the UN website stated that the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council jointly inform member states as nominations are submitted.
They also maintain and regularly update a public list of candidates, including their names, nominating states, vision statements, curricula vitae and campaign financing disclosures.
The joint letters from the two presidents serve to inform member states and forward the original communications received from countries nominating candidates, the UN website stated.
The current, ninth UN Secretary-General is António Guterres. His predecessors were Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Kurt Waldheim, U Thant, Dag Hammarskjöld and Trygve Lie. (ANI)
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