UN secretary-general race has eight candidates

Eight candidates are running to succeed Antonio Guterres as leader of the United Nations, with five women and three men in the field.

Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan was the front-runner after the first informal Security Council straw poll. The field also includes Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki, Senegal's Macky Sall and Uganda's Olara Otunnu.

The Security Council chooses the future UN chief before submitting the name to the General Assembly. A candidate needs nine votes on the 15-member council and must avoid a veto by the United States, Britain, China, France or Russia.

Grynspan, a former Costa Rican vice president, leads the UN trade and development body UNCTAD but took leave to campaign. Bachelet is a former Chilean president and former UN human rights chief. Espinosa is a former foreign minister of Ecuador and former president of the UN General Assembly.

Grossi, an Argentine career diplomat, has led the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019. Rodrigues-Birkett, a former foreign minister of Guyana, is her country's ambassador to the UN. A-Baki is an Ecuadoran diplomat and politician who has served as ambassador to Washington and Qatar.

Sall, a former Senegalese president, is the only candidate from outside Latin America. Otunnu has served as UN under-secretary general, Uganda's UN envoy and Uganda's foreign minister.