Contenders for United Nations (UN) number one job: Macky Sall, a former Senegalese president, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, current head of the United Nations (UN) Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rafael Mariano Grossi, chief of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ex-Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet Jeria
The contest to lead the United Nations is emerging as a test not just of candidates’ credentials, but of the organisation’s very ability to reinvent itself — with four contenders from the Global South now formally in the running to replace Secretary-General António Guterres.
The declared candidates are former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, Argentine diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, Costa Rican economist and UN Conference on Trade and Development head Rebeca Grynspan, and former Senegalese president Macky Sall. Each is seeking a five-year term beginning next year, though the field may yet grow in the coming months.
The race is unfolding at a moment of acute institutional strain. Major powers have increasingly sidestepped multilateral frameworks while simultaneously demanding reform and budget cuts, a contradiction analysts say has materially weakened the UN’s standing. Daniel Forti of the International Crisis Group has warned that the need for “a clear, proactive vision” on peacemaking and crisis management could not be more urgent, cautioning that indecision risks further eroding the institution’s credibility.
Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly, has framed the stakes plainly, describing the Secretary-General’s post as “one of the toughest jobs in the world” and underscoring that whoever takes it will bear responsibility for defending the UN Charter and the broader rules-based international order.
By convention, the position rotates among geographic regions, with Latin America widely regarded as next in line. Nationals of the five permanent Security Council members are excluded from consideration. The current field is notably lean compared to 2016, when 13 candidates competed before Guterres emerged as the choice. Adding to the significance of the selection is an 80-year institutional record unmarked by female leadership — a fact drawing intensifying scrutiny in the current race.
Among the candidates, Bachelet carries perhaps the most prominent profile, having served both as Chile’s president and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She retains support from regional heavyweights Brazil and Mexico, despite losing domestic political ground following a conservative shift in Chile. Her candidacy has attracted reservations from some US conservatives, with Washington signalling hesitation over her suitability.
Grossi has leaned into a defence of multilateralism as the cornerstone of his campaign, arguing that “even in times of division,” international institutions remain capable of delivering meaningful outcomes.
Grynspan has cast herself as the reform candidate, anchoring her pitch in commitments to equality and long-standing work on development and human rights. “I am not waiting for special treatment. I want equal treatment,” she said.
Sall, meanwhile, has focused his campaign on amplifying the concerns of developing economies — particularly the debt pressures weighing on African and emerging-market nations — and on reinvigorating multilateralism. His bid, however, has encountered uneven support across the continent, with neither his own country nor Nigeria offering an endorsement. Should he prevail, Sall would become only the third African to lead the organisation, following Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah