The Election at the United Nations: A Dozen Diplomats
Of the dozen diplomats vying to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, half are women. And 8 of the 12 are from Eastern Europe. There’s a reason for that. The informal tradition of regional rotation is a major factor in appointing the Secretary-General. The current SG Ban Ki-Moon is from Asia. The idea is, if the Secretaries-General consistently come from the same region, it’ll give undue influence to that group of countries.
No Secretary-General yet has come from Eastern Europe. And they say, it’s their turn.
“Why not this time? For the very first time in 70 years of the UN’s existence, we might actually choose a good candidate from Eastern Europe to lead the organization…be it a woman, or a man,” said Natalia Gherman of Moldova at a recent town hall.
The other four candidates are from Latin America and the West.
There are no formal qualifications for the job. The UN says candidates should display, “a commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, extensive leadership, and administrative and diplomatic experience.”
And while there’s no official prerequisites for the job, 6 out of the 8 past Secretaries General worked as foreign ministers. 4 either represented their countries at the UN or held positions within the organization. They were all essentially insiders to the intricacies of the United Nations.
William Pace is a spokesman for the 1 for 7 Billion Campaign. He says the next Secretary General needs to be experienced enough to hit the ground running as soon as he or she takes office.
“I don’t think this is a job that you can afford 2 or 3 years of on the job training for the Secretary-General to get up to speed,” he said.
All but one of the current candidates have served as foreign ministers or held a formal post within the UN.
To learn more about the individual candidates, the 1 for 7 Billion Campaign has compiled the official list, complete with CV’s, Vision Statements, and Informal Dialogues.
