Rebeca Grynspan Emerges as Front-Runner for UN Chief

An initial informal poll conducted by the UN Security Council has placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the leading candidate to become the next UN secretary-general, with former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett emerging as the second choice.

One diplomat says Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, is in a “surprise” third place among the seven candidates for the post. In the non-binding “straw poll” voting by the 15 members of the Security Council, Grynspan received 10 “encourage” votes compared to nine for Rodrigues-Birkett and seven for Grossi.

The campaign is for the replacement of Portugal's Antonio Guterres at the end of this year, when he will complete two five-year terms.

Her successor is tasked with revitalizing the organization in crisis and diminishing stature and under growing pressure to reform a bloated, expensive and duplicated bureaucracy in the many organizations of which it is composed.

Key Highlights:

• Rebeca leads the first UN Security Council straw poll with 10 "encourage" votes
• The UN has begun the process to choose a successor to António Guterres
• The selected candidate is expected to take office on January 1, 2027, after UN approval

During the straw polls, which are to be repeated several times, the ballot members of the Security Council will be queried as to whether they are “encouraging”, “discouraging” or “have no opinion” on each candidate.

During the first ballots in a straw poll, voters vote anonymously to see the level of support and opposition without knowing whether the negative votes came from one of the Council's five permanent members — and supporters — whose backing is essential: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

If history has any lessons to teach, then there may be several more elections to come this summer, culminating in late September or early October. If nothing can be agreed on, the process may take time longer.

Later on in the procedure, the five permanent members make use of a different color from the elected members, depending upon whether a candidate has garnered an “encourage” or “discourage” vote from one of them.

Finally, a resolution, generally in closed-door process, is adopted by the Security Council to be presented to the UN General Assembly of 193 member countries. It requires 9 votes yes and 0 votes no.

Rebeca, descended from Holocaust refugees, has relations with leading Jewish organizations, family in Israel and is a source of pride for Costa Rica’s small Jewish community, but is also an insider at the UN, which Israel has long accused of promoting animus against the country on the world stage. Throughout her years in her office at the UN, she has issued reports criticizing the Jewish state.

The selection process will continue with additional informal straw polls in the coming weeks as Security Council members seek to build consensus around a candidate. Once the Council agrees on a nominee, it will formally recommend that candidate to the 193-member UN General Assembly, which is responsible for appointing the next secretary-general. The successful candidate is expected to take office on January 1, succeeding António Guterres after the completion of his second five-year term.