Explainer: Who are the candidates running for UN secretary-general?

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

The 10th United Nations secretary-general will be chosen this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027.

A second informal poll took place on Friday and showed Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett was narrowly ahead, according to sources close to the process.

Here are the candidates so far running to take over from outgoing UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Rafael Grossi

Grossi, a 65-year-old career diplomat from Argentina, has been a high-profile director general of the UN nuclear watchdog for the last six years.

While the International Atomic Energy Agency has long policed Iran's nuclear programme, Grossi led negotiations aimed at salvaging parts of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers after US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of it in 2018. His critics say he has gone too far in trying to cut deals with Iran.

A multilingual father of eight, Grossi has raised both his and the IAEA's profile with his shuttle diplomacy in international crises.

His clearest success was getting a small IAEA team stationed at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Many diplomats consider him as a frontrunner after his years spent trying to keep onside the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, whose backing is crucial for the top job.

However, Russia has expressed reservations about his campaign.

Rebeca Grynspan

Grynspan, 70, depicts herself as a reform‑minded multilateralist who has battled gender barriers and has had a lifelong belief in the UN and its commitment to peace, development and human rights.

A former vice president of Costa Rica who heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Grynspan said she stepped back from duties until September to avoid conflicts of interest during the campaign.

If elected, Grynspan would be the first woman as secretary‑general. She said she had to make trade‑offs between family life and public service at UNCTAD and that being the first woman in charge there shaped her leadership.

"I am not waiting for special treatment. I want equal treatment," she told Reuters.

An economist, Grynspan describes herself as a "mature leader" who would lead a more agile UN through collaboration with other players while defending its core values.

Michelle Bachelet

Bachelet, 74, is a two-time president of Chile and a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who also served from 2010 to 2013 as executive director of women's rights agency UN Women.

Although supported by Brazil and Mexico, in March Chile withdrew its backing for Bachelet after a rightward shift in the country's leadership.

Bachelet has faced criticism from US conservatives for her pro-choice stance on abortion, and in April, Washington's UN envoy, Mike Waltz, appeared to torpedo her bid by saying he shared a US senator's concerns about her suitability.

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts said Bachelet had not done enough as UN human rights chief to label China's actions against Uyghur Muslims a genocide. Beijing has not stated its position on her candidacy.

Macky Sall

The 64-year-old geologist was Senegal's president for 12 years until 2024.

Sall seeks to support developing countries burdened by debt and has called for an overhaul of the Security Council as developing nations seek permanent seats on the most powerful UN body.

"More than ever, a reinvented multilateralism remains the best way to respond to the challenges of a world in full transformation," he said on X.

Sall was nominated by Burundi. If chosen, he would be the third African secretary-general after Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa

Espinosa was foreign affairs minister and defence minister in Ecuador in the government of former President Rafael Correa. She was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda.

Espinosa, 61, has also advised the UN and non-governmental organisations on biodiversity, and climate change and Indigenous peoples' policies.

Former roles as Ecuador's ambassador to the UN and president of the General Assembly have given her inside knowledge of the global institution, she said in her vision statement.

"I offer a candidacy grounded in a simple conviction: the UN must recover the courage to prioritise, the discipline to deliver, and the political confidence to act with purpose," she said.

Carolyn Allison Farida Rodrigues Birkett

A career diplomat and former politician, Rodrigues Birkett has served as Guyana's permanent representative to the UN since 2020. She was the first woman and the highest-ranking Indigenous person to serve as Guyana's foreign minister.

She has held senior roles at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. If elected, Rodrigues Birkett would become the first woman and first Caribbean national to lead the United Nations.

Rodrigues Birkett has pledged to make the UN more effective by strengthening conflict prevention and advancing climate action.

Olara Otunnu

Otunnu, a diplomat and former UN under-secretary-general, was nominated by Uganda and has called for the restoration of the global body's moral authority. At 75, he is the oldest of the current candidates for the role.

In his vision statement, Otunnu stressed the need to continue institutional reforms and said he would give immediate priority to efforts to help end major international conflicts.

He also pledged to work to establish a body to oversee UN work on AI and highlighted the need for climate change action that does not undermine economic development.

Ivonne Baki

Baki, an Ecuadorean diplomat born to Lebanese immigrant parents, was nominated by Tonga in August. She lived in Lebanon through the 1975 to 1990 civil war and her campaign draws on conflict prevention.

"I will be on the ground, not just at the desk in New York ... in war zones, in areas of tension, engaging every party directly to stop conflicts before they erupt," said Baki, who, at 75, is the second oldest of the candidates.

Baki has previously told Ecuadorean radio that her candidacy has US support and publicly acknowledged her friendships with President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. The United States has not commented.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.