Article 97 of the United Nations Charter, states "The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council". As a result, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.[2] The Charter's minimal language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and accepted practices.[3]
Although different regions have held the office, no secretary from Eastern Europe has ever been selected Secretary-General. No woman has ever been selected either.[3] In 2016 there were various international campaigns to select an eastern European or a woman.[4][5][6] Despite this, the selection was won by the only candidate who was neither female nor from Eastern Europe. In 2021, some groups attempted to revive the campaign to elect a woman at the helm of the United Nations,[7] but no female candidate was nominated by a member state to be considered by the Security Council.
Candidates
In order to be eligible for selection, a candidate must be nominated by at least one member state.[8][9] On June 8, the day the Security Council convened to recommend a candidate to the General Assembly, there was only one official candidate in the selection process (incumbent Antonio Guterres), and seven additional self-declared applicant candidates.[10]
Official Candidates
The incumbent Secretary General António Guterres confirmed he would be seeking a second five-year term.[11]
Rosalía Arteaga, President of Ecuador from February 9, 1997, to February 11, 1997. This candidate was proposed by the Forward campaign, an initiative promoted by Colombe Cahen-Salvador and Andrea Venzon of the Atlas Movement.[7]
On June 8, 2021, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution recommending António Guterres for a second term at the helm of the United Nations. His re-election was ratified by the United Nations General Assembly by acclamation on June 18, 2021, without a vote.[1]
^Chesterman, Simon (2007). "Introduction". In Chesterman, Simon (ed.). Secretary or General? The UN Secretary-General in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 7.
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