Overview
Dr. Augustina Șiman’s guide explains how the UN selects and appoints the next Secretary-General, with a practical roadmap for what to expect during the 2025–2026 selection and appointment process. It walks through the formal foundations of UN documents and practice, translating the historical archives into an easy sequence: the joint letter launching nominations, the General Assembly’s informal dialogues, the Security Council’s informal meetings, multiple rounds of straw polls, and finally the Security Council recommendation followed by the General Assembly appointment and Oath of Office.
Key Findings
- The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council (UN Charter, Article 97), and must maintain independence from external instruction (Article 100).
- Since 1946, the UN has had nine Secretaries-General; the guide highlights two representation gaps discussed in SG selection debates: no women SGs and no SG from the Eastern European Group.
- The modern selection approach emphasizes transparency and inclusivity, including public-facing candidate engagement through informal interactive dialogues in the General Assembly (a practice developed in the 2015–2016 cycle and expected to continue).
- The joint letter from the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council formally initiates the process, invites nominations by Member States, and supports maintaining a public list of candidates.
- The Security Council’s straw polls are informal, secret, and non-binding—used to narrow the field and test viability before a formal recommendation is made.
- What matters most in straw polls is not only overall support, but whether a candidate receives a “discourage” signal from a permanent member once colour-coded ballots are introduced (a practical proxy for a veto risk).
- The process culminates in a Security Council resolution recommending a single candidate, followed by a General Assembly resolution appointing the Secretary-General-designate, and the Oath of Office administered by the President of the General Assembly.
Developments post-publication of the Guide
As part of the selection and appointment process of the next UN Secretary-General the Interactive Dialogues with candidates for the position of United Nations Secretary-General and the UN General Assembly can be viewed here.
In line with the process, the UN Security Council held on 30 June 2026 informal interactive dialogues with the following candidates: Ms Michelle Bachelet Jeria (nominated by Brazil and Mexico), Ms Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (nominated by Costa Rica).
On 10 July 2026, the UN Security Council held informal dialogues with the following candidates: Ms Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (nominated by Guyana), Mr. Macky Sall (nominated by Burundi), Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi (nominated by Argentina). All candidates presented their views on challenges and opportunities faced by the United Nations and answered the questions put forward by the Security Council members.
Further, in order to strengthen the authority of the UN General Assembly in the process of selecting and appointing the next UN Secretary-General, the President of the 80th session of the General Assembly decided to convene a townhall with the six existing candidates (as of 23 of July 2026) for the respective position (Michelle Bachelet Jeria - nominated by Brazil and Mexico, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés - nominated by Antigua and Barbuda, Rafael Mariano Grossi - nominated by Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis - nominated by Costa Rica, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett - nominated by Guyana, Macky Sall - nominated by Burundi). The townhall, which took place on 23 July 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., in the General Assembly Hall, with the participation of Permanent Missions of UN Member States, civil society representatives, and even UN Staff, was designed to be distinct from the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council dialogues with individual candidates, featuring a discussion with the group of candidates during the event.
The townhall practice, pioneered by the President of the UN General Assembly on July 23rd - Annalena Baerbock, which culminated with an audience survey soliciting feedback on candidate’s performance and opinions, was harshly criticized by US - a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, during a later Security Council open debate on working methods of the Security Council - which took place on 19 August 2026. Amongst the arguments voiced by US: “Most people who voted in the poll have no official role in the selection process of the Secretary-General (…). Resolution 79/327 does not direct the President of the UN General Assembly to conduct polls or surveys of candidates in any form”. With regards to the selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General, during the same open debate, several UN Security Council Permanent Members underlined the following: “this process must proceed in strict accordance with Article 97 of the Charter of the United Nations, which establishes a strict distribution of roles between the Security Council and the General Assembly on this matter” - Russia; “this process must continue to unfold in accordance with Article 97 of the Charter and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, namely resolution 79/327 adopted by consensus on the 5th of September. Despite the fact that (France) would have been receptive to certain changes, France will comply with the process agreed upon by Council members to ultimately produce a recommendation in a timely fashion” - France; “Our collective endeavor to select the next Secretary-General of the United Nations should continue to be guided by article 97 of the Charter and by the processes outlined in the joint letter of 25 November 2025 and the GA resolution 79/327. Four our part, the United Kingdom will continue to assess all candidates on their merits.” - UK.
Olara Otunnu - nominated by Uganda, entered the race for the position of UN Secretary-General on 24 of July 2026.
On 27 of July 2026, the UN Security Council held an informal dialogue with Ms María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (nominated by Antigua and Barbuda) as part of the ongoing selection process of for the next UN Secretary-General. As per the UNSC Press Elements: the Security Council plans to make its recommendation to the General Assembly in a timely manner so that the appointment by the Assembly allows the new elected Secretary-General sufficient time to prepare for the job.
On 30th of July 2026, the UN Security Council held its first secret straw poll with the results indicating that more rounds will follow. For comparison and forecast purposes, the results of the 2016 straw poll process can be consulted.
Since then, an additional candidate for the position of the next UN Secretary-General has been announced: Ivonne A-Baki (nominated by Tonga on 17 August 2026).
On 19 and 20 of August, respectively, two interactive dialogues took place between the General Assembly and the candidates Olara Otunnu (nominated by Uganda) and Ivonne A-Baki (nominated by Tonga). The interactive exchange took place, as per the existing practice, in two segments, debuting with a one-and-a-half-hour discussion focused on leadership abilities, experience, and skills needed to lead a strong organization that is fit for the future. Following this, the second segment focused on the three pillars of the United Nations: peace and security, development, and human rights. In line with revitalization resolution, civil society representatives addressed questions to the candidates in each of the two thematic segments.
The UN Security Council held informal dialogues with candidates Mr. Olara Otunnu and Ms. Ivonne A-Baki, as part of the ongoing selection process for the next UN Secretary-General, on 20 of August 2026 - reiterating in its press elements that the position of UNSG is of great importance and that the Security Council will continue the process of selecting the next Secretary-General in accordance with the positions of article 97 of the UN Charter and the November 2025 joint letter, and guided by the principles of transparency and inclusivity.
On 21 August 2026, the UN Security Council held its second secret straw poll. The following month, on September 18, a third straw poll was conducted. As per the straw poll procedure, the 15 members of the Security Council vote “encourage”, “discourage” or “no opinion” on their ballot for the candidates. Similarly to the first poll, in the following polls, the votes of the Permanent Five veto-holding members of the Council remain undifferentiated from those of the other elected members.
On 19 September 2026, Michelle Bachelet Jeria (nominated by Brazil and Mexico) publicly announced its withdrawal from the race for the position of United Nations Secretary-General.
Days later, on September 22, 2026, in the light of his term ending in December of the same year, H.E. António Guterres gave his last opening remarks, as Secretary-General of the UN, for the General Debates of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (the annual meeting of Heads of State and Government at the beginning of each General Assembly session). He emphasized that looking ahead the future of humanity will be shaped by how humanity will address the “four great tests of power: The power over war and peace. The power that concentrates wealth and drives inequality. The power fueling climate chaos and the war on nature. And the power unleashed by artificial intelligence.” Guterres also pledged to carry the spirit of resolve and determination on the basis on which UN was created - through the remaining 100 days that he has left in office, receiving a standing ovation from the entire UN membership and world leaders gathered in the General Assembly Hall.
Following the UN High Level Week (18-28 September 2026) - a period during which, as part of their campaign process, the candidates for the position of next UN Secretary-General came to New York to meet with Heads of States, Governments, and delegations, on 29 September 2026 the UN Security Council conducted its fourth straw poll, with two women emerging as strong candidates: Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (nominated by Costa Rica) and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (nominated by Guyana).
The fifth Security Council straw poll, which took place on 7 October 2026 represented a further setback in the process of selecting and appointing the new UN Secretary-General, with the results clearly indicating at least one veto from a P5 member being extended on a resolution potentially putting forward to the General Assembly event the previously leading candidate - Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (nominated by Costa Rica).
As a matter of comparison, during the 2016 selection and appointment process of the UNSG, the UN Security Council held 4 rounds of straw polls before recommending António Guterres to the UN General Assembly.
On October 16 the Security Council has conducted its sixth straw poll, introducing for the first time color-coded ballots throughout the 2026 process - differentiating the votes of the Council’s five Permanent Members from those of the ten Elected Members. As per the results, at least 2 P5 Members opposed recommending to the General Assembly any candidate from the existing nominations The dynamics within the Council were explained by Politico, the digital news platform unveiling that the US Trump administration opposes all of the current crop of contenders to lead the United Nations — saying that none of them are sufficiently on board with President Donald Trump’s worldview and desire for drastic changes to the body.
Following this, Burundi’s nominated candidate and former President of Senegal - Macky Sall withdrew from the race, citing a Council preference for a Latin American, and possibly female, candidate.