The United Nations has never appointed a woman Secretary-General. Four experienced women are now in the running, but the Security Council’s veto politics could still decide the outcome.

A 2026 Lowy poll from two months ago shows that 70 per cent of Australians say that “the United Nations remains important to Australia’s national interests.” One would think, therefore, that there would be significant interest in the appointment of the UN’s tenth Secretary-General, which is taking place at the moment.

The overall selection process is prescribed by Article 97 of the UN Charter: “The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.” But since the Charter offers little other guidance, various informal procedures and practices have evolved over time. One is the rule of regional rotation, with it currently being Latin America and the Caribbean’s “turn,” although candidates from other regions can also be nominated. Seven candidates have been nominated to date – five from Latin America and the Caribbean (four women and one man) and two from Africa (both men). Women have been nominated as candidates since 1991, however, no woman has ever been selected, in spite of campaigns to this effect in 2006 and 2016.

It is generally accepted that candidates should come from small or mid-sized countries but not from the five permanent members (P5) of the Security Council. To be considered, a candidate must be nominated by one or more of the 193 member states, although the nomination does not have to come from the country of a candidate’s nationality.

For many years, the selection process was opaque, but that has recently improved. The current round of nominations was initiated in November by a joint letter from the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council addressed to all member states, inviting nominations and explicitly encouraging countries, “to strongly consider nominating women as candidates.” The letter requested that nominations be accompanied by a nomination........

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