The UN Security Council met on Friday August 21 for a second “indicative vote” session with a view to appointing the future Secretary General. Under pressure in particular from Donald Trump’s United States, which regularly contests its role and its funding, the UN is struggling to influence several major conflicts, while budget cuts threaten its humanitarian operations and peacekeeping.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the youngest of the eight candidates for the post of UN Secretary General, took the lead on Friday after this second “indicative vote” within the Security Council, according to a diplomatic source.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, 52, beat the former vice-president of Costa Rica, Rebeca Grynspan, who came first in a first vote in July, as well as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Argentinian Rafael Grossi.
Security Council “indicative vote”
Five women and three men are currently in the running to succeed the Portuguese Antonio Guterres, 77, who will end his second five-year term on December 31. During each session, the 15 members of the Council, meeting behind closed doors, must anonymously assign to each candidate a rating: “encourages”, “discouraged” or “no opinion”.
To win at the end of this procedure which could still take weeks or months, a candidate must collect at least nine votes, avoiding a veto from the five permanent members (United States, Russia, China, France, United Kingdom). The name is then submitted to the General Assembly, which in practice follows the nomination of the recommended candidate.
According to a tradition of alternation between continents, not always respected, Latin America this time claims the position. Many states are also pushing for a woman to take the helm of the UN for the first time.
Here are the eight candidates, in alphabetical order:
Ivonne A-Baki
Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki, former Quito ambassador to the United States and France, entered the race on August 18 to become secretary general of the United Nations, © Charly Triballeau, AFP
Entering the running this week, the Ecuadorian diplomat, former ambassador of Quito to the United States and France, saw her candidacy supported by Tonga.
Aged 75, born to Lebanese parents, she notably played a crucial role in the rapprochement between Ecuador and its Peruvian neighbor after several border conflicts.
She advocates for a less bureaucratic UN and more focused on concrete results, while presenting herself as a diplomat capable of restoring multilateralism.
Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet Jeria, candidate for next secretary general, in New York, United States, April 21, 2026. © Eduardo Munoz, Reuters
Aged 74, the socialist, tortured for her opposition to the regime of Augusto Pinochet, was the first female president of Chile (2006-2010 then 2014-2018), becoming a leading international political figure.
His time at the head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights attracted some resentment. China has thus criticized a damning report on the fate of the Uighur minority.
The Chilean is also the subject of American criticism over her pro-abortion stance. She pleads for a secretary general who is a “voice of morality”, even under pressure from the great powers.
His candidacy is supported by Mexico and Brazil. Chile withdrew its support after far-right President José Antonio Kast took office.
Maria Fernanda Espinosa
Maria Fernanda Espinosa during a meeting dedicated to examining the proposals in Montevideo, Uruguay, Monday August 3, 2026. AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico – Matilde Campodonico
The 61-year-old former minister of foreign affairs and defense of Ecuador sees the United Nations as the “single universal platform” that “addresses humanity’s common challenges,” although she calls for further reform of the institution.
The former president of the UN General Assembly also suggests the creation of an “early warning” mechanism to collect signals from the ground and prevent a conflict before it breaks out. She is not supported by her country, her candidacy being supported by Antigua and Barbuda.
Rafael Grossi
Rafael Mariano Grossi, candidate for next secretary-general, at UN headquarters in New York, United States, April 21, 2026. © Eduardo Munoz, Reuters
A career diplomat, the 65-year-old Argentinian, appointed by his country, entered the spotlight by taking the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2019.
This position led him to deal with the Iranian nuclear program and the issue of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia occupied by Russia. Two burning issues which concern permanent members of the Security Council.
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He did not step aside from this position for the campaign, believing that this would be “failing in his duty”. According to some observers, he has presented a more radical position regarding UN reform and defends a secretary general who must be present on the ground.
Rebeca Grynspan
Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan gives a press conference in San José, Costa Rica, October 8, 2025. © Jose Diaz, AP
The former vice-president of Costa Rica, aged 70 and supported by her country, is the boss of the UN agency for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from which she stood aside for the campaign.
As such, it negotiated in 2022, with Moscow and kyiv, the “Black Sea Initiative” to facilitate the export of Ukrainian cereals after the Russian invasion. Drawing on her personal history, with Jewish parents who “barely survived” the Holocaust before immigrating to Costa Rica, she deplores that the UN has become “a conservative organization in terms of risk”, by not trying hard enough to influence conflicts.
At the end of a first “indicative voting” session organized by the UN Security Council on July 30, it received the most favorable mentions from the 15 members.
Olara Otunnu
Ambassador Olara Otunnu, Uganda’s candidate for UN secretary-general, poses for a photo in Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Uganda Media Center via AP
The 75-year-old Ugandan is one of two candidates not from Latin America, a continent which claims the position by virtue of a tradition of geographical rotation. He notably served as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 1997 to 2005, under the authority of Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the UN.
He ran in the 2011 presidential election as a candidate for the opposition Uganda People’s Congress party, but was defeated by long-time President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Ambassador of Guyana to the United Nations and current President of the Security Council, Monday June 30, 2025. AP – Richard Drew
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, nominated by her country of which she is the ambassador to the UN, is at 52 the youngest of the six contenders. Friday, following a second “indicative vote”, she took the lead within the Security Council, according to a diplomatic source.
She pleads for restoring the UN’s flagging “credibility”, stressing that the organization must not be judged solely under the “prism of peace and security” but also on its actions in terms of development and defense of human rights.
Macky Sall
Senegalese President Macky Sall poses before an interview with The Associated Press at the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal, February 9, 2024. © Sylvain Cherkaoui, AP
Aged 64, the former strongman of Senegal between 2012 and 2024, notably insisted in his candidacy on the representation of the Global South in international bodies. He also underlined the intrinsic link between peace and development.
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Presented by Burundi, its candidacy finally received the support of Dakar. However, the Senegalese authorities accused him of having bloodily repressed the violent political demonstrations which left dozens of dead between 2021 and 2024.
With AFP
