No woman has ever been UN secretary-general

Chile’s former president, Michelle Bachelet, underlined her support for women’s rights in her bid to head the United Nations, despite calls for Washington to veto her candidacy due to her support for abortion.

Bachelet, 74, one of four candidates vying to head the 193-member global organization from next year, told reporters she had read a letter from more than two dozen Republican U.S. lawmakers accusing her of having “prioritized an extreme abortion agenda” and calling for the U.S. veto.

“I will always be by the side of women,” the two-time president of Chile and a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, adding that as secretary-general her job would be to ensure UN agendas on women’s rights are implemented.

“We need to continue advancing on women’s rights,” she said after a three-hour live hearing on her bid at the UN in New York.

Washington’s UN envoy, Mike Waltz, this month appeared to torpedo Bachelet’s bid by saying he shared concerns about her suitability.

Who are the candidates running for UNSG

RAFAEL GROSSI

Rafael Grossi, a 65-year-old career diplomat from Argentina, has been an omnipresent, hyperactive director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog for the past six years.

While the International Atomic Energy Agency has long policed Iran’s nuclear programme, Grossi led negotiations aimed at salvaging parts of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers after President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of it in 2018. Grossi’s critics argue he has gone too far in trying to cut deals with Iran.

A father of eight and polyglot who speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian, Grossi has raised both his and the IAEA’s profile with his shuttle diplomacy in international crises.

His clearest success was getting a small IAEA team stationed at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine after repeated trips across the front line in the Russia-Ukraine war.

He has sought to project the image of a man of action in the race, in which many diplomats see him as front‑runner after his years spent trying to keep onside the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – whose backing is crucial for the top job.

“These experiences have confirmed a conviction I hold deeply: even in times of division, multilateral institutions can deliver real, positive impact,” Grossi’s vision statement for the post states.

REBECCA GRYNSPAN

Rebecca Grynspan, 70, depicts herself as a reform‑minded multilateralist who has battled gender barriers and has had a lifelong belief in the U.N. and its commitment to peace, development and human rights.

A former vice president of Costa Rica who heads the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, Grynspan said she stepped back from duties until September to avoid conflicts of interest during the campaign. Grossi has continued in his role at the IAEA while campaigning.

Born to parents who fled Europe after World War Two, she links her worldview directly to the origins of the U.N. and its role in international cooperation and preventing conflict.

If elected, Grynspan would become the first woman as secretary‑general. She said while she had to make trade‑offs between family life and public service at UNCTAD, being the first woman in charge shaped her leadership.

“I am not waiting for special treatment. I want equal treatment,” she told Reuters.

An economist, Grynspan describes herself as a “mature leader” who would lead a more agile U.N. through collaboration with other players while defending its core values.

MICHELLE BACHELET

Michelle Bachelet, 74, is a two-time president of Chile and a former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, who also served from 2010-13 as executive director of U.N. Women, an agency promoting women’s rights.

In March, Chile withdrew its backing for Bachelet after a right-wing shift in the country’s leadership, but she said she would press ahead with support from Brazil and Mexico.

Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast’s government said her campaign lacked broad political consensus at home and faced poor odds internationally.

Bachelet has faced criticism from U.S. conservatives for her pro-choice stance on abortion and in April Washington’s U.N. envoy, Mike Waltz, appeared to torpedo her bid by saying he shared a U.S. senator’s concerns about her suitability.

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts charged that Bachelet had pulled punches as U.N. human rights chief in a 2022 report by failing to label China’s actions against Uyghur Muslims a genocide, and has also promoted abortion as a fundamental human right. Beijing has not stated its position on her candidacy.

MACKY SALL

Macky Sall, who was Senegal’s president for 12 years until 2024, emphasises his experience as head of state as a key asset for the role of secretary-general.

The 64-year-old geologist – the son of a peanut seller from a poor part of the West African country – completed major infrastructure projects during his tenure and has championed African development.

Sall has stressed the need to support developing countries burdened by debt. He is calling for an overhaul of the Security Council, in a nod to demands from developing nations for permanent seats on the most powerful U.N. body.

“More than ever, a reinvented multilateralism remains the best way to respond to the challenges of a world in full transformation,” he said on X.

Sall, who is softly spoken and more comfortable in French than English, was nominated by Burundi. His candidacy has mixed backing in Africa, with his homeland and Nigeria withholding support, according to diplomatic notes reviewed by Reuters.

If chosen, he would be the third African secretary-general after Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ghana’s Kofi Annan.

Bachelet is up against Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall for a five-year term, which can be extended for another five.

While they are the only declared candidates so far, others can join in the race in the coming months.

NEXT UN LEADER FACES ENORMOUS TASK

The next UN leader will face an enormous task to revitalize an organization in crisis, whose stature has significantly diminished in recent years.

Major powers, even as they increasingly flout long-held norms of international order, have pressed the UN to reform, slash costs, and prove its relevance.

Grossi, a 65-year-old career diplomat and father of eight who speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian, has headed the UN nuclear watchdog for six years. He told his hearing before representatives of UN member states and civil society that reform was going in the right direction, but was just a start.

“This house was not created to be an institution propelling messages from an ivory tower,” he said. “It is supposed to be solving problems on the ground.”

“We have to convince everybody that the UN is the best possible investment, much better than wars and cheaper as well.”

Grynspan and Sall will be questioned on Wednesday.

NO WOMAN HAS EVER HEADED UN

There are far fewer candidates than in 2016, when Antonio Guterres of Portugal was chosen from a field of 13 contenders.

No woman has headed the UN in its 80-year history, and tradition has dictated that the role rotate between regions, with Latin America next in line.

Another unwritten rule is that a secretary-general never comes from among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – to avoid over-concentration of power, though their backing is crucial in a lengthy and arcane selection process.

In March, Bachelet’s own country withdrew its backing for her candidacy after a right-wing shift in leadership, but she has retained support from Brazil and Mexico.

Grynspan, 70, a former Costa Rican vice president who heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, depicts herself as a reform-minded multilateralist who has battled gender barriers.

“I am not waiting for special treatment. I want equal treatment,” she told Reuters.

Sall, 64, Senegal’s president for 12 years until 2024, is a geologist and son of a peanut seller.

Soft-spoken and more comfortable in French than English, he has championed African development and support for debt-burdened countries. “More than ever, a reinvented multilateralism remains the best way to respond to the challenges of a world in full transformation,” he said on X.