Lead image for Explainer: Who are the candidates running for UN secretary-general?.
The 10th United Nations secretary-general will be chosen this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027.
A second informal poll took place on Friday and showed Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett was narrowly ahead, according to sources close to the process.
Here are the candidates so far running to take over from outgoing UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, July 23, 2026.
Rafael Grossi
Grossi, a 65-year-old career diplomat from Argentina, has been a high-profile director general of the UN nuclear watchdog for the last six years.