Race for UN top job: Otunnu faces member states today
The new UN chief is set to take office on January 1, 2027, with Otunnu among eight candidates seeking to succeed current Secretary-General António Guterres.
Uganda’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) secretary-general, Dr Olara Otunnu. (File photo)
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Uganda’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) secretary-general, Dr Olara Otunnu, is today (August 19) set to present his vision for the global organisation once given the opportunity to head it, and answer questions from member states about his leadership experience and qualifications.
The three-hour campaign inside the UN headquarters in New York City will also see the 75-year-old former Ugandan diplomat answer questions about the organisation’s reform and its three pillars of peace and security, development and human rights.
António Guterres, the current UN secretary-general, is due to end his second and final term of office at the end of this year, with seven other candidates seeking to replace him.
All the seven contenders have already taken part in public hustings, save for Otunnu, who was nominated by the Ugandan government on July 24, 2026.
Otunnu served as Uganda’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN from 1980 to 1985 and the global organisation’s under-secretary-general for children and armed conflict from 1998 to 2005.
He also presided over the UN Security Council in the 1980s.
According to the UN website, Otunnu's interactive dialogue with member states, which resembles a regular interview process, will take place at 3:00pm New York time, which will be 10:00pm in Uganda and the entire East Africa.
The process for the selection and appointment of the next secretary-general was formally initiated by the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council through a joint letter dated November 25, 2025.
Baerbock, who has been convening these interactive dialogues with candidates, told journalists shortly before the first session in April 2026 that they mark a critical step in the selection process.
“The selection of the secretary-general has widespread consequences that resonate far beyond this building. Our choice will shape the direction of the world’s unique multilateral organisation and demonstrate whether the United Nations truly represents the more than eight billion people we serve around the world, half of whom are women and girls,” she said.
Baerbock described the selection of the next secretary-general as not simply an administrative decision, but also a statement of intent.
“It will send a powerful message about what the United Nations stands for and how it intends to address the challenges of today’s interconnected world. In a nutshell, this is one of the toughest jobs in the world, but it is also one of the most important, as the next secretary-general will not only shape the future of this institution, but in her or his role as the strongest defender of the UN Charter, also that of the international rules-based order,” Baerbock stated.
The UN General Assembly resolution 79/327 on the Revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly sets out the process for the selection and appointment in line with Article 97 of the Charter of the organisation.
Article 97 says; “The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and such staff as the Organisation may require. The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. He shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organisation.”
According to Otunnu’s campaign programme, he will address the UN Security Council on Thursday (August 20) over his candidature.
He was accompanied to New York by former prime minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, who is heading his campaign.
“Obviously, the secretary general should be somebody who has deep and very broad experience of the United Nations. By the grace of God, I think there are very few people who have had the good fortune to work as broadly and as deeply at the United Nations as myself in all sectors of the United Nations,” he said.
The permanent secretary of foreign affairs ministry, Vincent Bagiire, explained why the Ugandan government nominated Otunnu as its candidate.
“Uganda has been a leader in some of the critical organs of the United Nations. Honourable Sam Kutesa (former minister of foreign affairs) was the president of the United Nations General Assembly in 2014-2015 (during its 69th session). So, we have been there and done it in the past,” he said.
Bagiire also noted that Otunnu himself was the president of the UN Security Council in his early 30s.
Other candidates
The other candidates standing to replace the current secretary-general, include former president of Chile Michelle Bachelet, former president of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa from Ecuador, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi from Argentina.
Others are former Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan from Costa Rica, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, and former Senegalese President Macky Sall.
The new UN chief is set to take office on January 1, 2027.
Only two Africans have previously occupied this seat - Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Anna