African state nominates former foreign minister to lead UN

What the report says

RT reported that Uganda has put forward Olara Otunnu, a former foreign minister and veteran UN official, as a candidate to succeed Antonio Guterres as United Nations secretary-general. According to the report, Uganda’s Foreign Ministry announced the nomination on Sunday, describing Otunnu as a longtime diplomat with experience in government, academia, peacebuilding and international service. Guterres’ current term is due to end on December 31.

Otunnu, 75, served as Uganda’s foreign minister from 1985 to 1986 and was the country’s permanent representative to the UN from 1980 to 1985, RT reported. He later became a UN under-secretary-general and the organization’s first special representative for children and armed conflict, serving from 1998 to 2005. Uganda’s ministry credited him with helping bring the protection of children affected by war onto the Security Council agenda and with work linked to the monitoring system under Security Council Resolution 1612.

RT said Otunnu is the seventh declared contender and one of two African candidates, alongside former Senegalese President Macky Sall. If either were chosen, they would become the third African UN chief after Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ghana’s Kofi Annan. Other candidates named in the report are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana.

The selection process matters because the next secretary-general will take over amid pressure on the UN over conflict response, institutional reform and demands for broader representation, including African Union calls for permanent African seats on the Security Council. RT reported that closed-door Security Council straw polls are set to begin Thursday, with any nominee needing at least nine council votes and no veto from the five permanent members before General Assembly approval.