Two women leaders in fray to become next Secretary General of United Nations

By R Anil Kumar

• The United Nations is set to elect its next Secretary General. Four candidates are in the running, including two women. This marks a significant moment as there’s a strong push for the first female leader in the UN’s 80-year existence

UN/ Bengaluru, April 7, 2026. Two women leaders are in the fray to become the next Secretary General of the UN, nominated along with two male candidates, amid a growing call for the first female to be elected as head of the global organisation in its 80-year-old history.

The process to elect the next Secretary General of the United Nations gets underway this month with the four nominated candidates for the post participating in interactive dialogues scheduled to be held at the UN Headquarters on April 21 and 22.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, the former Prime Minister of Portugal and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, will complete his second five-year term as head of the global organisation in December 2026.

He had assumed office in 2017 as the ninth Secretary General of the UN, an organisation that has never seen a female leader at its helm in 80 years of its existence.

Vying for the top job at the UN are former Chilean President and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former Vice President of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi and former President of Senegal Macky Sall.

Bachelet has been nominated by Brazil and Mexico, while Grynspan has been nominated by Costa Rica, Grossi by Argentina and Sall by Burundi.

The office of the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, said Monday that the interactive dialogue comprising three-hour sessions for each candidate will take place on April 21 and 22.

The Secretary-General is appointed by the 193-member General Assembly “upon the recommendation of the Security Council”, the powerful but divided 15-nation body where China, France, Russia, UK and the US sit as permanent members and have veto powers.

A UN General Assembly resolution adopted in September last year had noted “with regret” that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General and had encouraged Member States to “strongly consider nominating women as candidates” for the top post.

Several advocacy and rights groups have called for electing a woman as the next UN Secretary General, calling on Member States to support “only” women candidates and to ensure a transparent, inclusive process.

“We believe that appointing a woman leader with a proven commitment to gender equality, human rights, and multilateralism is not just a symbolic step-it is a necessary one for the UN’s legitimacy, effectiveness, and future,” Woman SG, a campaign to elect a female UN Secretary General, said.

1 for 8 billion, a global movement campaigning for an inclusive process to appoint the first woman UN Secretary-General, said the appointment of the next UN chief must be geared towards finding the candidate best able to rise to this challenge.

“That means giving all governments and people a chance to shape the process; not only the most powerful. And it means making history by appointing a woman to lead the 80-year-old institution.”

“The UN’s normative power is waning, and historical injustice can no longer be tolerated – we need a feminist woman leader who reflects the future we want and the UN we need to get there.”