By Ihechi Enyinnaya
Nigeria is missing in the race for UN Secretary-General, as the name of former President Goodluck Jonathan no longer appears among the latest aspirants seeking to succeed António Guterres.
Jonathan had earlier been backed by Nigerian groups for the position, with calls for the Federal Government to support his candidacy and mobilise diplomatic backing for him. However, his name is no longer among the candidates currently in the race, with recent reports indicating that he has decided not to contest the position.
The development leaves Nigeria without a candidate in the latest group of aspirants competing to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Those seeking to replace Guterres include former Senegalese President Macky Sall, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Argentine diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi, Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan, former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa and Guyanese diplomat Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
Ugandan veteran diplomat Olara Otunnu has also joined the race, bringing the number of prominent contenders to seven.
The contest has attracted particular attention because of expectations that the next Secretary-General could come from Latin America and the Caribbean, while there are also growing calls for the United Nations to appoint its first woman to the position.
Grynspan has emerged as an early frontrunner following an informal Security Council straw poll, while Rodrigues-Birkett has also attracted significant support.
The selection will be made by the 15-member UN Security Council, which will recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for final approval.
The five permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France — wield veto powers, making their positions crucial to the outcome of the selection process.
The successful candidate is expected to succeed Guterres, whose second term expires on December 31, 2026, and begin work as UN Secretary-General on January 1, 2027.
Below is the profile of the aspirants:
Macky Sall — Senegal
Macky Sall is a Senegalese statesman who served as President of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. Before becoming president, he was Prime Minister from 2004 to 2007 and President of the National Assembly. During his presidency, Sall promoted infrastructure development, economic growth and Senegal’s diplomatic role in West Africa. He also chaired the African Union from 2022 to 2023 and has been involved in international initiatives on development and climate-related issues. Senegal’s nomination of Sall gives Africa a prominent candidate in the UN succession race. His candidacy draws on his experience in national leadership, regional diplomacy and multilateral affairs.
Michelle Bachelet — Chile
Michelle Bachelet is a Chilean physician, politician and former president who served two non-consecutive terms, from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018. She was Chile’s first woman president and later became the first Executive Director of UN Women, serving from 2010 to 2013. From 2018 to 2022, she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Bachelet has built an international reputation around human rights, gender equality, social inclusion and multilateral cooperation. Chile, Brazil and Mexico formally presented her candidacy in 2026. If elected, she would become the first woman to serve as UN Secretary-General.
Rafael Grossi — Argentina
Rafael Mariano Grossi is an Argentine diplomat and international security specialist who has served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019. Before taking charge of the UN nuclear watchdog, he held senior diplomatic positions, including Argentina’s ambassador to Austria and representative to international organisations in Vienna. Grossi has spent much of his career dealing with nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, nuclear safety and international diplomacy. His IAEA leadership has placed him at the centre of major global security issues, including nuclear tensions involving Iran and Ukraine. His candidacy offers the UN race a candidate with extensive diplomatic and international crisis-management experience.
Rebeca Grynspan — Costa Rica
Rebeca Grynspan is a Costa Rican economist, diplomat and former vice-president who has held senior positions in both her national government and the United Nations system. She served as Costa Rica’s Vice-President from 1994 to 1998 and held several economic and social policy portfolios. She later became UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP, before serving as Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat. Since 2021, she has led UN Trade and Development, becoming its first female Secretary-General. Her campaign emphasises multilateral cooperation, economic development, trade, inequality and institutional reform. She is regarded as one of the prominent contenders in the race.
María Fernanda Espinosa — Ecuador
María Fernanda Espinosa is an Ecuadorian diplomat, politician, academic and former foreign minister. She became Ecuador’s first woman Permanent Representative to the United Nations and served as President of the UN General Assembly during its 73rd session from 2018 to 2019. Her career has combined diplomacy, international development, human rights, environmental issues and multilateral affairs. Espinosa has presented herself as an experienced but independent candidate capable of helping reform and revitalise the United Nations. She has called for a more effective organisation, stronger conflict-prevention mechanisms and greater efficiency within the UN system. Her candidacy strengthens Latin America and the Caribbean’s representation in the succession race.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett — Guyana
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is a Guyanese diplomat and politician who serves as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She previously served as Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and also has experience as a teacher and parliamentarian. Rodrigues-Birkett has represented Guyana on major international issues and served as President of the UN Security Council. Her campaign stresses collective responsibility, practical reform and making the UN more agile and effective. She has also highlighted the equal importance of the organisation’s three central pillars: peace and security, human rights and development. If elected, she would become the first woman and the first Guyanese to lead the United Nations.
Olara Otunnu
Otunnu, 75, is a veteran of the U.N. system who has been in retirement since unsuccessfully contesting the Ugandan presidency in 2011.
He was once seen as a favorite to replace the Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali as U.N. secretary-general in 1997, but was blocked by the Ugandan authorities now nominating him. Then the president of the International Peace Institute in New York, Otunnu was not on good terms with the government of President Yoweri Museveni. Ghana’s Kofi Annan won the job.
Annan named Otunnu a U.N. under-secretary-general and his special representative for children and armed conflict. Otunnu served in that role between 1997 and 2005, the year he won the Sydney Peace Prize for “his ceaseless efforts to protect children in time of war and his promotion of measures for the healing and social reintegration of children in the aftermath of conflict.”
Educated at Oxford and Harvard Law School, he was Uganda’s representative to the U.N. between 1980 and 1985, serving for a year as president of the Security Council. He also briefly served as Uganda’s foreign minister in the 1980s. He is widely respected in Uganda as an elder statesman.