UNITED NATIONS, Uganda has officially nominated veteran diplomat Olara Otunnu to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, making him the seventh candidate seeking to succeed António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends later this year.
Uganda submitted Otunnu’s nomination on Friday in a letter addressed to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, formally entering the experienced diplomat into one of the world’s most closely watched international leadership contests.
Otunnu, 75, is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and previously served as the UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. He is currently the oldest candidate in the race.
In his vision statement, Otunnu called for continued institutional reforms to strengthen the United Nations and said his immediate priorities would include helping resolve major international conflicts through diplomacy.
He also proposed the creation of a dedicated UN body to oversee global governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and emphasized that climate action should be pursued without undermining economic development, particularly in developing countries.
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The next UN Secretary-General will inherit an organization facing increasing pressure to reform its bureaucracy, improve efficiency, reduce overlapping functions among agencies, and restore its global influence amid growing geopolitical divisions.
Otunnu joins a diverse field of candidates that includes Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan; former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa; former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; and former Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Diplomatic consultations are expected to intensify this week as the 15-member UN Security Council begins informal straw polls aimed at narrowing the field. Additional candidates may still enter the contest before the formal selection process advances.
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While no clear frontrunner has emerged, diplomats say there is broad support for Latin America to produce the next UN chief, and many member states have also expressed interest in seeing the organization led by its first female Secretary-General.
Ultimately, analysts say the decisive factor will be securing support within the Security Council while avoiding a veto from any of its five permanent members—the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France.
