Four candidates seeking to lead the United Nations confronted sharp questions about the organization's mounting failures in maintaining global peace and security, as the 80-year-old institution faces widespread doubts about its effectiveness in resolving conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan. Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal's Macky Sall spent hours this past week fielding questions from U.N. ambassadors in what General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock called one of the toughest job interviews in the world.
No clear victor emerged from the initial auditions to succeed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Jan. 1, and other candidates could still enter the race. Baerbock said the secretary-general is not only the head of the U.N. and the world's top diplomat but also represents all 8 billion people, defending the U.N. Charter and leading on peace, development, and human rights.
Candidates Acknowledge U.N. Failures
All four candidates acknowledged the U.N.'s inability to fulfill its founding role following World War II of ensuring international peace and security and preventing conflicts in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other global hot spots because of wide divisions. They pledged to spur reforms to the more than 80-year-old institution.
Bachelet, 74, a two-time president of Chile and former U.N. human rights chief, told ambassadors that the U.N. must try to avoid crises and that she has the right leadership skills. She said she stands before them to reclaim the urgent need for dialogue, stressing that the U.N. must anticipate, prevent and unite. She said the next secretary-general also needs to be physically present in the field to help tackle problems.
Grossi, 65, a former Argentine diplomat who has been director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in his seventh year since 2019, said that with the world so polarized, there are enormous, huge doubts about the institution in solving global problems. Unless the U.N. has effective leadership and support from all countries, it won't regain a key place at the table, he said, so the organization must concentrate on that. He also said the next U.N. chief must visit global hot spots.
Risk-Taking and Regional Rotation Questions
Grynspan, 65, a former Costa Rican vice president who has been secretary-general of the U.N. trade and development agency in her fifth year since 2021, said she knows how to stand up for principles while under pressure. As secretary-general, she said she would continue to be the moral voice and the impartial voice that the secretary-general has to be. She warned that the U.N. has become a risk-conservative organization. She said the organization needs to take more risks and that she is ready to fail and try again.
Sall, 64, who was president of Senegal for 12 years, said the U.N. needs to regain its place at the global table. If chosen, he said he would be a bridge-builder and that his first priority would be to contribute to restoring trust, to calm tensions, reduce fragmentation and breathe renewed hope into collective action.
Controversy Over Regional Turn and Candidate Backgrounds
By tradition, the job of secretary-general rotates by region, and this year it is Latin America's turn. Sall, the only candidate from outside the region, said the U.N. Charter doesn't bar any candidates. He noted that after a leader from the global north—Guterres is Portuguese—the next U.N. chief should be from the global south. Sall was also the only candidate to spark demonstrations outside U.N. headquarters, both for and against his quest to be secretary-general. Sall has been accused of corruption, which he denies.
Bachelet, a medical doctor, responded to a letter from 28 Republican U.S. lawmakers calling her a pro-abortion zealot and asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio to veto her, saying the issue is controversial and that she respects every country's right to decide. She called herself a strong believer in women's rights to decide on their own lives and how many children to have. As secretary-general, she said she would do whatever is necessary to advance agreements by U.N. member nations, including on promoting gender equality.
Daniel Forti, the International Crisis Group's head of U.N. affairs, said the four candidates tried to walk a political tightrope. He said it is not immediately obvious whether any candidate did enough to propel themselves ahead of the others, or to ward off potential challengers who might emerge later.
Selection Process and Calls for Change
The selection will be left to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, especially its five veto-wielding members—the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France—that remain tight-lipped. The 193-member General Assembly must give final approval.
Minh-Thu Pham, an adviser to former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and CEO of the Starling Institute think tank, said there is a widespread desire for a secretary-general who is willing to take risks and be more active in promoting peace. She said the U.N. isn't part of the conversation on major crises because it hasn't had the courage to take risks.
Susana Malcorra, a former Argentine foreign minister and senior U.N. official who was a candidate for secretary-general in 2016, said the United Nations more than ever needs new leadership and energy. The global advocacy group she leads, GWL Voices, has been campaigning for the next U.N. chief to be a woman.
Why This Matters:
The selection of the next U.N. secretary-general comes at a critical juncture when the institution faces mounting questions about its relevance and effectiveness in addressing global conflicts. The candidates' acknowledgment that the U.N. has failed to prevent or resolve major crises in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan underscores the need for fundamental institutional reform and more decisive leadership. The debate over regional rotation versus merit-based selection, exemplified by Sall's candidacy despite Latin America's traditional turn, raises questions about whether political considerations should outweigh competence in leading a struggling organization. The veto-wielding Security Council members' tight-lipped stance suggests that geopolitical calculations, rather than institutional effectiveness, may ultimately determine who leads an organization that requires renewed credibility and the courage to take risks in promoting international peace and security.