Michelle Bachelet nominated as a candidate

On February 1, the Presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council received an official notification on the nomination of former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet as a candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the international organization. This was announced at a briefing by La Neis Collins, a representative of the Office of the President of the 80th session of the General Assembly.

“The Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council received notification on February 1 of the nomination of Michelle Bachelet as a candidate. Bachelet was nominated by Chile, Brazil and Mexico,” La Neis Collins said.

Earlier, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced that Mexico, Brazil and Chile would jointly nominate Bachelet for the position of UN Secretary-General. Bachelet served two terms as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018. From September 2018 to August 2022, she held the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Bachelet is not the only candidate from Latin America for the post of UN Secretary-General. In November last year, Argentina nominated Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The term of office of the current UN Secretary-General António Guterres expires on December 31, 2026.

The Secretary-General is selected by the UN Security Council and approved by the General Assembly. The term of office is five years, with the possibility of re-election. There is no limit on the number of terms, although so far no one has held the position for more than 10 years. According to established practice, the UN Secretary-General is not chosen from representatives of the permanent members of the Security Council — Russia, the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France.