Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock campaigned to have a woman elected as UN chief for the first time since UN Secretary General António Guterres. In every country, at least 50 percent of the population is female, “but in 80 years this organization has never had a female secretary general,” the Green Party politician said at the UN general debate in New York. “So if this organization demands equality and justice in the world, it is long overdue for us to demonstrate that here in New York.”
We must now practice saying “Madam Secretary-General, you have the right” – “because the next UN Secretary-General must be a woman,” Baerbock said.
To date, there have been nine heads of world organizations, including Portuguese Guterres – all of them men. Guterres’ second term ends in 2026 and he has expressed support for a woman as his successor. In UN circles, someone from the southern hemisphere is considered possible. In this context, the name of the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, comes up again and again.
Until now, the position of UN Secretary General has always been held by a man. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
