Date/Time
Date(s) - 28/05/2026
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Categories No Categories

A new UN Secretary-General will be selected in 2026 to take office on 1 January 2027. On 28 May, United Nations Association UK will host all nominated candidates who have agreed to participate in a debate exploring their priorities for the “world’s toughest job”. The event will include a discussion on the issues that matter to the public in the UK and beyond. 

The event will be in a Central London location yet to be announced. See here for details.

There are officially four candidates in the race to succeed Antonio Guterres: Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, and Macky Sall.

So far two out of the four currently nominated candidates have agreed to take part in the UNA-UK event. They are Rafael Grossi and Rebeca Grynspan.

Rafael Grossi is the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a former diplomat, nominated by Argentina.

Michelle Bachelet Jeria is the former President of Chile, initially nominated by Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, but Chile later informed the UN on March 24 that it was withdrawing its nomination. She is now a candidate of Brazil and Mexico.

Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis is the Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development and was nominated by Costa Rica, while Sall, former President of Senegal, was nominated by Burundi.

Macky Sall is the only candidate from outside Latin America, the region from which, according to regional rotation, this year’s UN chief is expected to be selected.

More information about the candidates

The UN has a list which includes nominated candidates, even those who have since withdrawn. It also includes links to webcast interactive dialogues with nominated candidates in the General Assembly to be held on 21 and 22 April.

The 1for8billion campaign lists includes the nominated candidates plus a list of individuals that have been named as potential candidates in the press but have not been confirmed.