UNITED NATIONS — Guyanese ex-foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett narrowly led the second round of the informal process to pick the next UN chief, a diplomatic source and specialist media said Friday.

Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, daughter of two Jewish refugees who fled the Second World War, was the front-runner last month when the 15-member Security Council held a first informal vote, behind closed doors and by secret ballot.

If elected, Grynspan would be the first woman and the first Jew to lead the UN.

Grynspan has relations with leading Jewish organizations, family in Israel, and is a source of pride for Costa Rica’s small Jewish community. She is also an insider in the UN, where she currently leads the Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Israel has long accused the UN of promoting animus against the country on the world stage. Grynspan’s office, like other UN agencies, has produced reports critical of Israel’s conduct toward Palestinians.

She dipped slightly to second place, while Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the current head of the UN nuclear watchdog, came in third, according to the diplomatic source and specialist publication Pass Blue.

Other candidates include fourth-placed Macky Sall of Senegal, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa and Uganda’s Olara Otunnu.

Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki has also thrown her hat into the race since the first straw poll.

The outgoing secretary-general, Antonio Guterres of Portugal, ends his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.

Guterres’ successor faces the task of revitalizing an organization in crisis and declining in........

© The Times of Israel