United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2016
An election is due to be held in 2016 to determine who succeeds Ban Ki-moon, whose term as the eighth United Nations Secretary-General will conclude on 31 December 2016.
Contents
Background[edit]
There are few rules governing the selection of the Secretary-General. The only guiding language is Article 97 of the United Nations Charter, which states that "The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." In 1946, the General Assembly adopted a resolution stating that it was “desirable for the Security Council to proffer one candidate only for the consideration of the General Assembly, and for debate on the nomination in the General Assembly to be avoided.”[1] As a result, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.[2]
The Charter's minimal language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and accepted practices. Traditionally, candidates from the Permanent Five members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), are not considered for the position of Secretary-General to avoid further concentration of power within the UN. As with regional rotation, this is a matter of precedent and convention, rather than a written rule.
While former officeholders represent a wide range of countries, there has never been a female Secretary-General.[3]
Because of the informal regional rotation scheme, many commentators speculate that the next UN Secretary-General will come from the Eastern European Group, as that region has never produced a Secretary-General. However, tensions between Russia and Western permanent members over the conflict in Ukraine has raised the possibility of deadlock over an Eastern European nominee, meaning that candidates from other regions (particularly non-European WEOG and Latin America) are being seriously considered.
Criticism of process[edit]
The absence of a formal campaign has, as in past years, led to much speculation as to potential candidates, only a few of whom have actually been endorsed by their national governments. There has been growing criticism of the opacity of the process, with increased calls by NGOs such as The Elders and some states for a more formal campaign in which candidates engage in a more public discussion of their views and platforms. Writing in Singapore's Straits Times, Simon Chesterman has argued that, for an organisation as important as the UN, "having its leader chosen by the lowest common denominator of what the P5 finds acceptable is not good enough."[4]
Candidates endorsed by their national governments[edit]
Eastern Europe[edit]
Slovenia - Danilo Türk PhD, former President of Slovenia, former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN, former Ambassador to the UN, former President of the United Nations Security Council, professor of International law (nominated by the Slovenian government in January 2014)[5]
Bulgaria - Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General (nominated by the Bulgarian government in June 2014)[6][7]
Croatia - Vesna Pusić PhD, Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs[7][8] (nominated by the Croatian government in September 2015)[9]
Macedonia - Srgjan Kerim PhD, Former President of the United Nations General Assembly (nominated by the Macedonian government in September 2015)[10]
Candidates who have clearly expressed their intention to run[edit]
Eastern Europe[edit]
- Vuk Jeremić (Serbia), former President of the United Nations General Assembly and former Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs[7] (declared intention in November 2013)[11]
Potential candidates named in the press and elsewhere[edit]
Eastern European Group[edit]
- János Áder (Hungary), President of Hungary[12]
- Mircea Geoană (Romania), former Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs[13]
- Kristalina Georgieva (Bulgaria), Vice-President of the European Commission[7]
- Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania), President of Lithuania[7]
- Ján Kubiš (Slovakia), Head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and former Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs[7]
- Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia), Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs[7][14]
Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)[edit]
- Michelle Bachelet (Chile), President of Chile and former Executive Director of UN Women[7]
- Alicia Bárcena Ibarra (Mexico), Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)[7]
- Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and former Vice President of Costa Rica[7]
- María Ángela Holguín (Colombia), Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations[7]
- Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), President of Brazil[7]
Western European and Others Group (WEOG)[edit]
- Helen Clark (New Zealand), Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme & former Prime Minister of New Zealand[7][15]
- Kevin Rudd (Australia), former Prime Minister of Australia[7][16]
- António Guterres (Portugal), current United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees & former Prime Minister of Portugal[17][18]
- Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Denmark), former Prime minister of Denmark [19]
- Federica Mogherini (Italy), current High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Union's foreign minister [20]
- Angela Merkel (Germany), current Chancellor of Germany, who grew up in East Germany.[21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ General Assembly resolution 11(I) (1946).
- ^ Simon Chesterman, "Introduction", in Simon Chesterman (ed), Secretary or General? The UN Secretary-General in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 7.
- ^ "UN Secretary-General". Unelections.org. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ Simon Chesterman, "Who Wants to Rule the World", Straits Times, 27 June 2015.
- ^ "Slovenian ex-president Turk bids for UN Secretary-General". CCTV. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ "Bulgaria nominates Bokova for UN Secretary General". EurActiv - EU News & policy debates, across languages. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "The Race for U.N. Secretary-General Is Rigged". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ Hrvoje Prnjak. ""Slobodna" doznaje od izvora iz vrha vlasti: na izbore idemo 26. travnja". slobodnadalmacija.hr. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ The Independent
- ^ MINA
- ^ In News
- ^ József Spirk. "Áder János az ENSZ-főtitkári posztra hajt". Index.hu. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ "The Politics of UN Leadership". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ Lubomir Makky,Mark Northrop. "Slovak diplomats eye top UN job". Spectator.sme.sk. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ Jane Martinson. "Will Helen Clark be the first woman to run the UN?". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ "Rudd's long plot to replace Ban Ki-moon". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ Cristina Figueiredo, Luísa Meireles. "Guterres candidato a secretário-geral da ONU?". Expresso. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ^ Liliana Valente. "António Guterres prolonga mandato na ONU e afasta-se de Belém". Observador. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ http://www.bt.dk/politik/for-og-imod-saadan-kan-thorning-lande-topjob-i-fn
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/the-push-for-a-woman-to-run-the-un.html?_r=0
- ^ "Angela Merkel 'does not want to complete full term as German chancellor'". The Telegraph. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
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