UAE nominates Lana Nusseibeh for UN secretary-general
The Emirati minister of state has entered the contest to succeed António Guterres, with the Security Council yet to recommend a candidate.
The United Arab Emirates nominated foreign ministry official Lana Nusseibeh for UN secretary-general on 21 October 2026, according to an AFP report published by Hindustan Times. Her entry adds a candidate to the contest to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends on 31 December.
Nusseibeh, a UAE minister of state who previously represented the country at the UN, confirmed her candidacy in a statement quoted by AFP. ‘I am standing to be Secretary-General because I believe this is a moment to act with greater urgency: to act earlier, bring people together across difference, and drive the work forward until it produces concrete results,’ she said.
The candidates and the Security Council vote
The nomination follows an informal Security Council straw poll in which every contender received at least two effective vetoes, AFP reported. Macky Sall of Senegal subsequently withdrew. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica and former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett were among the candidates remaining in the race when Nusseibeh entered it.
AFP also named Rafael Grossi of Argentina, who heads the UN nuclear watchdog, Ivonne A-Baki and Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, and Olara Otunnu of Uganda as candidates. The agency described Grynspan as a frontrunner in earlier polls, but the latest result showed the difficulty any candidate faces in securing Security Council agreement.
How the UN chooses a secretary-general
Under the UN’s selection process, one or more member states nominate a candidate, who submits a vision statement, curriculum vitae and campaign-financing disclosures. The Security Council must recommend a candidate before the General Assembly appoints the next secretary-general. Nusseibeh’s reported nomination therefore starts a candidacy; it does not determine who will take office after Guterres.
A candidate needs at least nine votes in the 15-member Security Council and must avoid a veto by any of its five permanent members, AFP reported. In informal straw polls, council members anonymously mark each candidate ‘encourage,’ ‘discourage’ or ‘no opinion.’ The polls, introduced in the early 1980s to help break a veto deadlock, have remained part of the selection process despite criticism of their opacity.
The UN’s top post has traditionally rotated among regions. On that basis, AFP reported, this turn would favor a candidate from Latin America. That convention is part of the contest Nusseibeh now enters, alongside the Security Council votes needed for a formal recommendation.
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Sources and context
- UAE nominates official to lead UNHindustan Times (AFP)
- Selection and Appointment of the Next Secretary-GeneralUnited Nations
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.