The UN Election That Could Change the World—If the Superpowers Don’t Kill It First

The United Nations begins its historic race for a new Secretary-General, with a strong push to nominate a woman for the first time in 80 years. Latin America’s Michelle Bachelet and Rebeca Grynspan, along with Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, are frontrunners. The UN’s 193-member General Assembly will vote, but the five permanent Security Council powers—USA, Russia, China, UK, France—hold veto power, making the outcome a high-stakes geopolitical test. Will history be made, or will old patterns prevail?

#UN #SecretaryGeneral #MichelleBachelet #RebecaGrynspan #RafaelGrossi #DavidChoquehuanca

Transcript

00:00The United Nations has officially launched the process to elect its next Secretary-General

00:05on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, with a historic call.

00:11Nominate a woman to break the organisation's 80-year glass ceiling.

00:15In a joint letter, the Presidents of the Security Council and General Assembly

00:19explicitly stated their regret that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General,

00:26urging Member States to strongly consider nominating women as candidates.

00:32The formal invitation marks the beginning of a year-long race to select the 10th UN Secretary-General,

00:38who will take office on January 1, 2027, succeeding Antonio Guterres after he completes his second five-year term.

00:47The UN Charter explicitly refers to the Secretary-General using masculine pronouns.

00:52He, reflecting the male-only history of the role since 1945.

00:59The 193-member General Assembly will vote on the recommendation from the 15-member Security Council.

01:06But ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding powers, the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France,

01:14must agree unanimously on a candidate.

01:16If any P5 member casts a veto, the entire process resets.

01:23When Antonio Guterres was elected in 2016,

01:27it took six separate straw polls before consensus was reached among the Security Council.

01:31Several candidates have already publicly declared their intention to run.

01:48Michelle Bachelet of Chile, nominated by President Gabriel Boric on September 23rd,

01:54is a former two-term President of Chile,

01:56the first woman to hold that office and served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018-2022

02:04and as Executive Director of UN Women from 2010-2013.

02:10Boric praised her as

02:11a woman whose life story is deeply consistent with the values that inspire this organization.

02:18Rebecca Grinspan of Costa Rica, nominated by President Rodrigo Chavez on October 10th,

02:23currently serves as Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development, Young Tad,

02:28and previously served as Vice-President of Costa Rica.

02:33Chavez highlighted her

02:34very broad experience in issues of development, international cooperation, and regional leadership.

02:41Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAER,

02:47has also formally entered the race.

02:50Additionally, David Choquehuanca,

02:52nominated by a coalition of 36 indigenous groups from Bolivia,

02:56is considered a candidate,

02:57though it remains unclear whether Bolivia's new leadership will formally endorse his candidacy.

03:03Regional diversity and gender balance are explicitly cited as selection priorities in the UN's formal guidelines.

03:22The push for a female Secretary-General carries historic weight.

03:26In 2016, when the position was supposed to rotate to Eastern Europe,

03:30several strong female candidates emerged,

03:34including Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva

03:37and Moldovan diplomat Natalia Gurman.

03:41But Antonio Guterres, a male from Portugal,

03:44ultimately won, breaking the regional rotation.

03:47The tradition of regional rotation is supposed to follow a pattern.

03:51Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and so on.

03:55According to convention, Latin America's turn is now,

04:00making Bachelet and Grinspan particularly strong candidates.

04:05However, some diplomats expect candidates from other regions may still emerge.

04:10The election represents not just a personnel decision,

04:13but a statement about whether the UN,

04:16an organisation created in 1945 to prevent future global conflicts,

04:20can finally break its own gender ceiling at the highest levels.

04:25The outcome will be decided through a complex dance of geopolitical negotiation,

04:30veto power, and regional pressure among the five permanent Security Council members.

The UN Election That Could Change the World—If the Superpowers Don’t Kill It First | APT

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