María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés has been nominated by Antigua and Barbuda as a candidate to be the next UN Secretary-General. Ms. Espinosa is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defense of Ecuador, and served as President of the UN General Assembly from 2018-2019.

There is a loosely observed convention that the UN Secretary-General position rotates between different regions. Many Latin American and Caribbean states believe that, according to the convention, it is their region’s turn to produce the next Secretary-General. Although there have been several nominations by Latin American states, Antigua and Barbuda is now the first Caribbean member state to nominate a candidate in this year’s process.

Moreover, Ms. Espinosa joins two other candidates — Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Macky Sall, former President of Senegal and Chairperson of the African Union — in being nominated by states of which they are not citizens. The ability of candidates to enter the race with support from any UN member state strengthens the perception that the Secretary-General is a global civil servant, independent of their country of origin.

The 1 for 8 Billion Campaign will work with our expert NGO partners to publish updated policy profiles, including profiles of all new candidates, once the new candidates participate in interactive dialogues at the UN General Assembly. Our policy profiles ensure that people can easily find out each candidate's positions on the most important challenges facing the UN, introducing more transparency into the selection process.

Photo Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe