Susana Malcorra

On the Campaign Trail for the World’s ‘Most Impossible’ Job

• May 3, 2021

The job of United Nations secretary-general is the “most impossible on earth,” as the first postholder, Trygve Lie, famously told his successor, Dag Hammarskjold. Though Lie spoke partly in jest to amuse the assembled reporters, the remark has stuck with UN observers for its eerie insightfulness. After all, the UN chief is charged with …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The Process to Choose the Next UN Leader Should Start Now

Ben Donaldson

• November 29, 2020

LONDON — This time five years ago, Mogens Lykketoft, the president of the United Nations General Assembly, was working with members of the Security Council to create the first open process to appoint the next secretary-general, after the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 69/321. In 2021, the process will begin again to select the …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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COVID-19

In Spain, a Strong Sense of Solidarity Drives Endurance in the Pandemic

Susana Malcorra

• April 27, 2020

MADRID — The first two cases of Covid-19 infections here were identified on Feb. 26, 2020. That day, 23 people had become infected in Spain in less than 24 hours. Three days later, the number was 80. From then on, Madrid rapidly became the city with the most cases in the country, and by …

Covid-19, Health and Population, SDGs

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 21, 2019

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 …

SDGs, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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Guterres Leads Latest Poll for UN Secretary-General Again, but It May Not Matter

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• September 9, 2016

The latest Security Council straw poll pointing to the selection of the next secretary-general of the United Nations happened on Sept. 9, with the results leaving António Guterres of Portugal still the front-runner ever since the informal, anonymous balloting began in the Security Council in July. The latest poll is the fourth such vote; …

Secretary-General, Security Council, US-UN Relations, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

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

Ingvild Bode

• August 16, 2016

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

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• July 14, 2016

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

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• June 20, 2016

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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New Candidates for Secretary-General Make Their Cases at the UN

Barbara Crossette

• June 7, 2016

The field of nine candidates campaigning formally to become the next United Nations secretary-general grew by two on June 7, when Miroslav Lajcak, Slovakia’s foreign minister, and Susana Malcorra, who holds the same position in Argentina, spoke in public sessions lasting more than two hours each, taking questions from UN member delegates and civil …

Secretary-General

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The Heart of Pope Francis’s Speech at the UN: Don’t Look Past the Poor

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 25, 2015

Pope Francis spread his gospel of not forgetting the poor at the United Nations on Friday morning, where he spoke in his native Spanish to the 193 member delegations and heads of state gathered before him at the General Assembly Hall. It was his first appearance at the UN during his first trip to …

Development, General Assembly, Poverty, SDGs, Secretary-General, Women

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Deep Flaws in UN Response to Sri Lanka Include R2P Failure

Alice Volkov

• December 20, 2012

The United Nation’s internal report on its role during the final stages of the prolonged civil war in Sri Lanka was unusually critical of the Secretariat and highlighted major shortcomings in the UN’s response to the fighting. The report, which was leaked to the BBC days before its official release on Nov. 15, forced …

Asia, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Responsibility to Protect, Secretary-General

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GOINGS-ON

Ban Ki-moon’s New Team Earning Positive Reviews

Barbara Crossette

• August 8, 2012

When leaders of the world start descending on the United Nations in September for the opening of a new General Assembly session, there will two new internationally well-known figures in prominent positions at the top of the organization. In July, Jan Eliasson of Sweden became the UN’s deputy secretary-general, and in mid-August, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal …

GOINGS-ON, Secretary-General

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GOINGS-ON

Jan Eliasson Named Deputy Secretary-General

Barbara Crossette

• March 4, 2012

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has chosen Jan Eliasson, a former Swedish foreign minister with years of experience as a key United Nations mediator and humanitarian relief director, to be his new deputy secretary-general. Eliasson, 71, was twice ambassador to the United States and is well known is Washington. He takes office on July 1. Eliasson’s …