The contest to choose the next Secretary-General of the United Nations has expanded, with Uganda’s Olara Otunnu becoming the seventh official candidate seeking to lead the global body.
The United Nations on Saturday informed member states that Uganda had formally nominated the 75-year-old diplomat, who has held senior positions within the UN and previously contested Uganda’s presidency.
The successful candidate will succeed Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, 2026. The new UN chief is expected to assume office on January 1, 2027.
Veteran diplomat with UN experience
Otunnu brings decades of diplomatic and international leadership experience to the race. From 1997 to 2005, he served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict under then Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
During his tenure, he led global efforts to protect children affected by war and advocated for stronger international measures against the recruitment of child soldiers.
Before that, Otunnu served as Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and briefly held the position of Foreign Minister.
Beyond diplomacy, he entered domestic politics and was the presidential candidate for the opposition Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) in the 2011 general election, where he was defeated by longtime President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
Seven candidates in the running
Otunnu joins six other candidates vying to become the UN’s next Secretary-General:
Macky Sall (Senegal)
Michelle Bachelet (Chile)
Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador)
Rafael Grossi (Argentina)
Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica)
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana)
