# Who is the next UN Secretary-General?

*The Security Council has been considering candidates in private straw polls since July 30, 2026, and the current term ends on December 31, 2026.*

- Type: News
- Section: World
- By: World Desk
- Published: 2026-11-12T00:12:20-05:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T00:12:20-05:00
- URL: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/

## Key facts

- No next UN Secretary-General has been appointed: the General Assembly president's page, dated October 22, 2026, lists the appointment as still to come with no date announced. Source: [President of the United Nations General Assembly](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). Confirmed 2026-11-12T00:11:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/#no-next-un-secretary-general-has-been-appointed-the-general
- The current stage is consideration by the Security Council, which began on July 30, 2026, and is carried out in private through informal straw polls whose results are not published. Source: [President of the United Nations General Assembly](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). Confirmed 2026-11-12T00:11:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/#the-current-stage-is-consideration-by-the-security-council
- The United Nations selection page lists 11 nominations, 3 of them marked withdrawn, and the most recent is Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, nominated by Türkiye on November 1, 2026. Source: [United Nations](https://www.un.org/en/sg-selection-and-appointment). Confirmed 2026-11-12T00:11:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/#the-united-nations-selection-page-lists-11-nominations-3-of
- The current term of office of the Secretary-General ends on December 31, 2026, and the next term begins on January 1, 2027. Source: [President of the United Nations General Assembly](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). Confirmed 2026-11-12T00:11:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/#the-current-term-of-office-of-the-secretary-general-ends-on
- Under Article 97 of the United Nations Charter, the General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council. Source: [President of the United Nations General Assembly](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). Confirmed 2026-11-12T00:11:00-05:00. Cite: https://factsdesk.com/world/who-is-the-next-un-secretary-general/#under-article-97-of-the-united-nations-charter-the-general

## What is known

Verified:
- The General Assembly president's page lists the current stage as consideration by the Security Council, as at October 22, 2026.
- That page lists six straw polls announced by the president of the Security Council, on July 30, August 21, September 18, September 29, October 7 and October 16, 2026.
- The United Nations selection page lists two nominations made after those polls: Lana Zaki Nusseibeh on October 21, 2026, and Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu on November 1, 2026.

Not yet known:
- No date has been announced for the Security Council's recommendation or for the General Assembly meeting to appoint the Secretary-General.
- The Security Council does not publish the results of its straw polls.
- The General Assembly president's page is dated October 22, 2026, and does not show whether any straw poll has taken place since October 16, 2026.

No one had been appointed as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations as of October 22, 2026, the date on the [page kept by the president of the General Assembly](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). That page lists the current stage as consideration by the Security Council and lists the appointment by the General Assembly as still to come, with the date to be announced.

## Where the selection stands

The Security Council began considering the candidates on July 30, 2026, according to the [General Assembly president's page](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/). The Council does this in private, through informal straw polls. The Council's president announces after each round that a poll took place, and the Council does not publish the results.

That page lists six straw polls, by the date each was announced: July 30, August 21, September 18, September 29, October 7 and October 16, 2026. It states that no date has been announced for the Council's recommendation or for the meeting of the General Assembly to appoint the Secretary-General.

The same page says the Council will make its recommendation "in a timely manner so that the appointment by the Assembly allows the newly appointed Secretary-General sufficient time to prepare for the job". The current term of office ends on December 31, 2026, and the page lists the swearing-in of the person chosen for the last quarter of 2026, before the new term begins on January 1, 2027.

## Who has been nominated

The [United Nations selection page](https://www.un.org/en/sg-selection-and-appointment) lists 11 nominations and marks 3 of them as withdrawn. The eight nominations it does not mark as withdrawn are below, in the order the page lists them.

| Candidate | Nominated by | Date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ivonne A-Baki | Tonga | August 17, 2026 |
| María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés | Antigua and Barbuda | May 11, 2026 |
| Rafael Mariano Grossi | Argentina | November 26, 2025 |
| Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis | Costa Rica | March 3, 2026 |
| Lana Zaki Nusseibeh | United Arab Emirates | October 21, 2026 |
| Olara Otunnu | Uganda | July 24, 2026 |
| Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett | Guyana | June 15, 2026 |
| Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu | Türkiye | November 1, 2026 |

The General Assembly president's page counts six candidates as at October 22, 2026. The two most recent names in the table, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh and Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, appear on the United Nations selection page and not on the president's page.

## Nominations withdrawn

The [United Nations selection page](https://www.un.org/en/sg-selection-and-appointment) marks three nominations as withdrawn.

| Nominee | Nominated by | Withdrawn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Michelle Bachelet Jeria | Chile, Brazil and Mexico | Chile on March 25, 2026; Brazil and Mexico on September 21, 2026 |
| Virginia Gamba | Maldives | March 25, 2026 |
| Macky Sall | Burundi | October 20, 2026 |

## How the Secretary-General is chosen

The Security Council recommends and the General Assembly appoints. The [General Assembly president's page](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/) says the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council, under Article 97 of the United Nations Charter, and that the Assembly makes the appointment by resolution in a plenary meeting.

The steps for this selection are set out in General Assembly resolution 79/327, adopted on September 5, 2025, according to the [United Nations selection page](https://www.un.org/en/sg-selection-and-appointment). A joint letter from the president of the General Assembly and the president of the Security Council, published on November 25, 2025, opened the process and invited nominations. A candidate is nominated by one member state or a group of member states and provides a vision statement, a curriculum vitae and campaign financing disclosures. The president of the General Assembly then holds a webcast dialogue with each candidate.

This page will be updated at this address when the Security Council makes its recommendation or the General Assembly sets a date for the appointment.

## Sources

1. [Selection and Appointment of the Next Secretary-General](https://www.un.org/pga/81/sg-selection/), President of the United Nations General Assembly, 2026-10-22 (primary source)
2. [Selection and Appointment of the Next Secretary-General](https://www.un.org/en/sg-selection-and-appointment), United Nations, 2026-11-12 (primary source)