Inside the process for selecting a new UN secretary-general

When the first U.N. secretary-general, Norwegian Trygve Lie, handed off to his successor in 1953, he gave a stark assessment of the difficulty of the role. “Welcome to the most impossible job in the world,” he said.The search is now underway for a new person to take on this challenging and high-profile position. The current secretary-general, António Guterres, will end his tenure on Dec. 31 after serving for 10 years.According to the United Nations, the secretary-general’s job is “equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO.” The holder of the role acts as “a spokesperson for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable.” Why We Wrote This Pressure is growing on the world body to prove its effectiveness and relevance. Here’s how its next chief will be chosen. But, as Mr. Lie found when faced with Cold War clashes between East and West, particularly in the Korean War, it’s a role in which mediating among competing interests can sometimes seem like a thankless task.The U.N. is also under growing pressure to prove its effectiveness. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly last year to mark its 80th anniversary, U.S. President Donald Trump railed against the organization and questioned its relevance, claiming he had been more successful than it had been in ending recent wars.Other countries have called for a reform of the organization’s structures, to take away the veto power of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.“I think it’s important for the U.N. to find someone who can make the U.N. more relevant, or at least have the perception that it’s more relevant,” says Colum Lynch, a senior global reporter with Devex, who has covered the United Nations for three decades. “It’s a really pivotal period for the U.N.”How is a new secretary-general chosen?It’s a long, complicated process governed by Article 97 of the U.N. Charter. The search started in November last year when member states were invited to nominate candidates. The process has been revised over the years to make it more transparent, so candidates now take part in televised question-and-answer sessions with representatives from member states. A U.N. town hall debate was broadcast in July.Since 1981, a series of straw polls has taken place, allowing representatives from the 15 countries that make up the Security Council to indicate whether they think a candidate should be “encouraged” or “discouraged,” or if they have no opinion.The key votes are cast by the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – which have the power to veto a candidate. But, in reality, experts say, three of those countries hold the most power.“That’s Russia, China, and the U.S.,” says Georgina Holmes, a senior lecturer in politics and international studies at the Open University in the U.K. “It’s really the decision of the P3 [permanent 3] that this will rest on.” Angelina Katsanis/AP/File People walk around the plaza outside the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, Sept. 22, 2025. The sculpture, entitled Sphere Within a Sphere, was gifted to the world body by Italy in the 1990s. At first, all 15 countries have the same colored ballot slips for the straw polls, so no one knows who is supporting or rejecting a candidate. Later, the five permanent members are given red ballots. A “discourage” vote by one of them on a red ballot is likely to end a candidate’s hopes.But finding the right candidate this time could be particularly challenging.“At the moment, because of the attack on multilateralism, the weakening of the U.N., and the illiberal politics at play, particularly among the P3 ... it’s going to be really hard to find a suitable candidate,” says Dr. Holmes.If no acceptable candidate can be found, she says, there could be a new search, or the process could be extended.One other factor is the notion of regional rotation – that the job will pass from a candidate from one part of the world to another from a part that hasn’t held the position recently. A former U.N. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, as is the norm for the body, says, “It is widely expected that it is the Latin American and Caribbean states’ turn.”Deadlocks can occur if the permanent five disagree, and sometimes a compromise candidate can emerge late in the process.Eventually, one name will be put forward by the Security Council to the 193 members of the General Assembly for approval. So far, its members have never rejected a recommendation for the secretary-general role.How many secretaries-general have there been, and could the new one be the first woman?There have been nine permanent secretaries-general since the U.N.’s formation in 1945. All have been men. They have come from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The incumbent, Mr. Guterres, is a Portuguese politician who was formerly prime minister of his country.U.N. custom means the winning candidate cannot come from any of the five permanent member countries.For this election, there’s a lot of interest in whether a woman will be chosen to be secretary-general for the first time, with several strong female candidates. Ten years ago, when Mr. Guterres became secretary-general, a number of women were also in the running but failed to win.“I think this cohort of women candidates do have a lot more experience behind them,” says Dr. Holmes. “Really the main focus [though] is who is the right person for the job, who has the right skills.” She says it will be important for candidates to demonstrate that they are best placed to avoid falling out with member states.When will we know who is chosen?Typically, a recommendation is put to the General Assembly between October and December.The process could happen faster if the 15 members of the Security Council coalesce around one candidate at an earlier stage. But it could also take longer if no one emerges from the pack or if the five permanent members can’t agree.“There have been a number of periods of history where there have been issues of deadlocks,” says Mr. Lynch, “and they’ve had to come up with creative ways of trying to overcome those.”