Michelle Bachelet Pulls Out of Race for Next UN Secretary-General
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has withdrawn from the race to become the next United Nations secretary-general, bringing an end to her campaign after an informal Security Council poll put her near the bottom of the field.
Bachelet, Chile’s first woman president, announced her decision on Saturday through a video posted on social media. She said she had chosen not to continue her candidacy but did not regret taking on what she described as a major challenge.
Bachelet said her campaign had helped open a wider discussion about whether the next UN secretary-general should be a woman from Latin America.
Chile’s government said it withdrew its support for Bachelet’s candidacy in March. Since then, it has not endorsed any of the remaining candidates and reiterated its commitment to multilateralism and UN reform.
Bachelet’s Bid Loses Support
Bachelet was nominated in February by the administration of former Chilean president Gabriel Boric and initially received backing from the left-leaning governments of Mexico and Brazil.
Her campaign suffered a setback after José Antonio Kast became Chile’s president and withdrew the country’s support for her candidacy.
The 74-year-old former president had earlier acknowledged the difficult odds facing her campaign, joking about her chances of taking charge of the world body during a university event.
The selection process has so far involved three informal straw polls by the 15-member UN Security Council. Costa Rica’s former vice president Rebeca Grynspan led the first two rounds, while Guyana’s former foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett emerged on top in the third.
Seven Candidates Remain
Bachelet’s withdrawal leaves seven candidates — four women and three men — seeking to succeed António Guterres as UN secretary-general.
Guterres, 77, will complete his second five-year term on December 31.
No woman has served as secretary-general in the UN’s 80-year history. Latin America has produced only one UN chief so far, with Peru’s Javier Pérez de Cuéllar serving from 1982 to 1991.
An informal regional rotation tradition, which has not always been followed, suggests that Latin America could have a strong claim to the post this time.
The next secretary-general will ultimately be recommended by the Security Council and appointed by the UN General Assembly.
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