UNITED NATIONS — Four candidates will audition before ambassadors from the United Nations' 193 member nations in the race to succeed Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31. Michelle Bachelet, Chile's former president, will be the first to face a three-hour question-and-answer session on Tuesday.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will audition second. Rebeca Grynspan, who has been secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development since 2021, will appear on Wednesday in the General Assembly hall, followed by Macky Sall, Senegal's former president.

Under the U.N. Charter, the General Assembly chooses the secretary-general upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The five permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — hold veto power over the selection. By tradition, the post rotates by region. Guterres represented Europe as a former Portuguese prime minister and U.N. refugee chief; Ban Ki-moon represented Asia as former South Korean foreign minister; and Kofi Annan represented Africa as a former U.N. official. Eastern Europe has never held the post, and its regional candidates lost out in 2016.

Under U.N. rules, candidates must be nominated by a member nation, which need not be their own country, and there is no time limit for nominations. Bachelet, 74, is backed by nominations from Brazil and Mexico after the Chilean government withdrew its support following José Antonio Kast's inauguration as president in March. Grossi, 65, was nominated by Argentina. Grynspan, 70, was nominated by Costa Rica. Sall, 64, was nominated by Burundi; Senegal informed the African Union that it had not endorsed him, and the African Union did not endorse him either.

In 2016, there were 13 candidates for the post. That year, the Security Council started conducting straw polls among candidates in late July to serve as a cutoff.

"There was no real cost associated with losing," said Richard Gowan, program director and U.N. watcher at the International Crisis Group, referring to the earlier contest. "This time around, potential candidates and the governments who sponsor them are much more cautious," he added.

Guterres has sought to achieve gender equality in his administration, and Britain and France have expressed support for a woman as secretary-general. The global advocacy groups 1 for 8 Billion and GWL Voices have campaigned for a woman to hold the post. Susana Malcorra, president and co-founder of GWL Voices, is a former Argentine foreign minister and senior U.N. official who was herself a candidate for the post in 2016.

On March 25, 2026, 28 Republican members of the U.S. Senate and House sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking the United States to veto Bachelet's candidacy. "I share your concerns," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said.