Helen Clark

The UN Must Select a Woman Secretary-General Now, Not Later

February 23, 2021

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, announced early last month that he would seek a second five-year term, starting in January 2022, as the organization’s highest official, “if it would be the will of the member states.” The respective presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council have since defined the “selection and appointment …

Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Three Ex-UN Leaders Form a Women’s Group to Save the World

February 21, 2019

by Dulcie Leimbach

As multilateralism takes a beating from President Trump amid the “new world disorder,” as one European diplomat put it, three women who know the United Nations inside and out through previous top leadership jobs have originated a Group of Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion. The goal is to bring together former UN female …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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Reform Clouds Darken the Future of the UN Development Program

January 28, 2019

by Barbara Crossette

As the first effects of Secretary-General António Guterres’s ambitious organizational reform plans become apparent, former and current officials of the United Nations Development Program see the future of the internationally influential agency as uncertain if not in peril. Fears center on aspects of the reform plan for development that would allow more political interference …

Development, Health and Population, Sustainable Development Goals

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Feminists Made the Difference: How Women Won National Leadership Roles

April 23, 2017

by Torild Skard

Hillary Clinton did not make it to the top, but Theresa May, the British prime minister, and Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, did. Since Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world’s first female prime minister, in Sri Lanka in 1960, one-hundred women have been heads of state or government around the world. How did they get …

Governance, Women

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BOOKS

Misogyny Didn’t Stop Them: The World’s Most Important Female Leaders

April 1, 2017

by Joanne Myers

From Asia and Africa to Europe and the Americas, women remain important forces of change as government leaders in the modern era. Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister after its independence, was one of the earliest — and the only woman in India — to hold that position, from 1966 …

BOOKS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Yikes Again! UN Staffers Protest Wonder Woman’s Role at the UN

October 20, 2016

by Dulcie Leimbach

Wonder Woman is not so wonderful in the eyes of hundreds of United Nations staff members around the world. Earlier this week, a petition began circulating among personnel to ask their boss, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to rescind the choice of the cartoon character, whose main uniform is a bustier and high heels, as an …

Gender-Based Violence, Women

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UN’s Newest Vote to Pick the Next Secretary-General? Guterres Wins Again

September 26, 2016

by Dulcie Leimbach

António Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal who most recently was the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, once more dominated the latest straw poll held by the UN Security Council on selecting the next secretary-general. The five-year term starts Jan. 1, 2017, when Ban Ki-moon, a Korean, leaves office. The fifth poll, …

Secretary-General

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WORLDVIEWS

Personalities Can’t Be Ignored in Candidacies for UN Secretary-General

August 16, 2016

by Ingvild Bode

What personal qualities are needed to become a successful United Nations secretary-general? The 2016 campaign to select a new leader features many novelties in the UN’s history: an official list of candidates, public job interviews by the General Assembly and informal panel debates in London and New York. Civil society coalitions and the current …

WORLDVIEWS

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Only 1 Woman in Top-3 Winners Again in UN Secretary-General Vote

August 5, 2016

by Lori Silberman Brauner

With 11 candidates left in the race this year for United Nations secretary-general, the Security Council held its second straw poll on Aug. 5, showing a slight shift in levels of support by the council’s 15 members, but placing António Guterres of Portugal at the top again. Yet once more, only one woman, this …

Secretary-General

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Getting to Know the UN Secretary-General Candidates Better: A Wrap-Up of Two New York Forums

July 14, 2016

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

When it comes to the United Nations, the word “debate” takes on a civilized bearing, with no relation to heated contests among many sides. Over two nights this week at different settings in New York, UN secretary-general candidates campaigning to fill the shoes of Ban Ki-moon in January 2017 debated publicly. One event, held …

Secretary-General

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WORLDVIEWS

A Woman, a Bombast and a Socialist: The UN and US Elections

June 20, 2016

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

The major contenders for one of the highest public offices in the world include the first possible female candidate for the position; a slightly aggressive (and that’s what his friends say about him) surprise candidate; and a socialist who’s not really supposed to be there but has garnered enough support to possibly be a …

Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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The Field Grows and Shifts in the Race for UN Secretary-General

June 1, 2016

by Barbara Crossette

The second crop of campaigners making a pitch to replace Ban Ki-moon in January is now being assembled, and it looks like the first declared candidate on the list may well shake up the race. She is Susana Malcorra, Argentina’s foreign minister and a well-respected, internationally known former United Nations official. The next round …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, Women

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Another First for Candidates for UN Secretary-General? Tweeting

April 19, 2016

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

This is not your grandfather’s election cycle. Will this be the year a woman is elected to one of the highest political positions in the world? What’s up with the surprise candidate gaining unexpected momentum? Can any candidate truly blend the need for the best-qualified administration with gender parity? It is unequivocal that this …

Secretary-General

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A UN First After 70 Years: Open Campaigning for Secretary-General

April 17, 2016

by Barbara Crossette

It was a week unprecedented in the history of the United Nations. From April 12 to 14, nine candidates for the office of secretary-general were put on a public stage in front of the world to make their cases as to why they should be elected to follow Ban-Ki-moon when his term ends this …

Secretary-General

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New Snags for Women Running in the UN Secretary-General Race

February 1, 2016

by Dulcie Leimbach

The only official female candidate in the competition so far to become the next United Nations secretary-general may already be in flux. Just a few weeks have passed since the Croatian government sent a letter to the UN nominating Vesna Pusic, a former foreign minister, but her candidacy may be uncertain because of a …