On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates nominated Lana Nusseibeh, a senior official in its foreign ministry, to compete for the position of UN Secretary-General, as no candidate has yet emerged as a clear leader.
Nusseibeh serves as a minister of state in the UAE foreign ministry and is highly regarded for her previous role representing Abu Dhabi at the United Nations.
In a statement, she declared, “I am standing to be Secretary-General because I believe this is a moment to act with greater urgency: to act earlier, bring people together across difference, and drive the work forward until it produces concrete results.”
The most recent informal straw poll, conducted last week to assess candidates’ viability for the UN Secretary-General role, resulted in every contender facing an effective veto.
With five of the 15 Security Council members holding veto power, any candidate deemed unacceptable can be blocked. This occurred last Friday when all seven candidates received at least two vetoes.
Subsequently, Macky Sall of Senegal withdrew from the race.
This left Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, who has been a frontrunner in previous polls, competing alongside Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s former foreign minister.
Other candidates include Rafael Grossi of Argentina, head of the UN nuclear watchdog; Ivonne A-Baki and Maria Fernanda Espinosa from Ecuador; and Olara Otunnu from Uganda.
The current Secretary-General, António Guterres of Portugal, completes his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
Even if a candidate secures the necessary nine votes from the Security Council’s 15 members, they must avoid a veto from the five major powers, which are deeply divided.
After meeting these criteria, the candidate’s name will be submitted to the General Assembly, comprising all UN member states, for final confirmation.
The Security Council straw poll was introduced in the early 1980s to resolve a deadlock where two candidates were blocked by vetoes.
This informal mechanism has continued in various forms, despite criticism from nations opposing its opaque nature.
Each Security Council member anonymously labels each candidate as “encourage,” “discourage,” or “no opinion.”
Tradition dictates that the position of UN Secretary-General should rotate among different regions.
Based on this principle, the role is expected to be filled by a candidate from Latin America this time.
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