Olara Otunnu of Uganda will be the third African to lead the group, and the first since the late Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan almost two decades ago.
Uganda has nominated former Foreign Minister Olara Otunnu to be the next Secretary General of the United Nations, making him the seventh candidate vying to replace Antonio Guterres.
The East African country announced the candidacy of Otunnu in the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement Sunday, citing him as a politician and international public servant with more than four decades of diplomatic experience.
The ministry cited Otunnu’s experience in diplomacy, government, academics and peace building, saying it makes him “He is well suited to lead the United Nations at this critical time in international affairs.”
Otunnu, 75, served as Uganda’s foreign minister from 1985 to 1986 and as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations between 1980 and 1985. He was also under the secretary general of the United Nations and the organization’s first special representative for children and armed conflicts from 1998 to 2005.
“He succeeded in putting the protection of war-affected children on the agenda of the Security Council and organized the historic follow-up and monitoring system adopted under Security Council Resolution 1612 of 2005, which continues to operate today,” the ministry has said.
Otunnu and the former President of Senegal Macky Sall are the only African candidates. If elected, he will either be the third African to lead the United Nations and the first since Ghana’s Kofi Annan, who served from 1997 to 2006. Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali was the first African secretary-general, serving from 1992 to 1996.
The other five candidates are from Latin America and the Caribbean, the only regional group that has never produced a UN secretary-general. They are former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi of Argentina, former Vice President of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador Maria Fernanda Espinosa, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
Guterres’ second five-year term ends on December 31, and his successor will inherit an organization under pressure from dealing with international crises and growing calls for structural reforms, including the African Union’s demand for at least two permanent seats on the Security Council.
The Security Council will begin a series of secret ballots on Thursday, with members marking candidates “to encourage,” “break the heart,” or “no comment.” A candidate must ultimately receive at least nine of the 15 council votes without a veto from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom or the United States before being submitted to the General Assembly for formal nomination.
In his vision statement, Uganda’s Otunnu pledged to pursue institutional reforms, strengthen conflict resolution efforts, and promote international surveillance of fake intelligence. He described his candidacy as an opportunity “reset and redo” UN and give them “a new lease on life.”
