The United Nations selects its secretary-general every five years, with a possible extension for a further five. The term of the current Secretary-General, António Guterres, ends in December. By convention, all previous secretaries-general did not run for a third term, except, ironically, Kurt Waldheim in 1981, who hid his Nazi affiliation. China vetoed him 16 times — a rare moment in history when the veto power was yielded for something good.

The selection process itself involves multiple steps: First, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the UN Security Council (UNSC) — comprising 15 member-States, including the permanent five (P-5) who have veto powers — issue a joint call to UNGA member-States for nominations. These nominees must submit their CVs and a vision statement, participate in formal and informal dialogues within and outside the UNGA, and campaign for the post. The UNSC then conducts straw polls in which members “encourage”, “discourage” or offer “no opinion” on each candidature. In later straw-poll rounds, a veto by a single P-5 member can end a candidature. Finally, UNGA confirms, via a simple-majority vote, a candidate who earlier received nine out of 15 votes in the UNSC, without a single P-5 veto.

In 2025, the UNGA president asked member-States to nominate candidates, allowing joint nominations including non-nationals for the first time. Curiously, two candidates from Ecuador were nominated, but neither nomination came from Quito. Candidates were also asked to resign from any UN jobs they held and reveal their funding sources. The UN has never had a woman secretary-general, and this time, the nomination of women........

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