The Trump administration is being urged to go on the offensive and ensure that the next president of the United Nations aligns with American and Western values and does not bow to what critics say is an increasingly anti-American institution.
UN Secretary General António Guterres’ term ends on December 31, 2026. Portugal’s former socialist prime minister has been plagued by major wars and crises that have led to accusations of bias against him, especially when it comes to Israel.
Experts agree that the Trump administration should keep a close eye on who can best serve US interests
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President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the 80th session of the United States General Assembly on September 23, 2025 at UN Headquarters in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Jonathan Wachtel, former director of communications and senior policy advisor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations to U.S. Ambassadors Nikki Haley and Kelly Craft, said: “Since its inception, the United Nations has been a frontline of the Cold War, and today it is increasingly a frontline of hostility toward the United States.
“As the Security Council prepares for the straw polls of mid-2026, we face the stark reality that Russia and China can veto any candidate who reflects our values, even as they seek to undermine American foreign policy and erode Western principles. The next Secretary General must be… a leader with backbone and conviction to defend the ideals on which the UN was founded, and the United States has long insisted – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for as many people as possible.”
With just over a year to go in the selection process, Member States have started nominating candidates that best suit their national interests.
“The announced and rumored candidates … are for the most part UN insiders or on the left side of the political spectrum,” Schaefer said. “It is difficult to say that the US would be willing to support any of these programs at the current stage.”
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In this October 13, 2016, file photo, António Guterres of Portugal, secretary general-designate of the United Nations, speaks during his appointment at UN headquarters. (Seth Wenig/File/The Associated Press)
Dugan said custom would indicate that the next secretary general should come from Latin America. He also stressed that there is interest in appointing a woman after fifteen years of calls for a female Secretary General.
“If they really want to take the helm of a suffering, more or less irrelevant and unmanageable organization like this, they’re going to have to emerge as managers,” Dugan said.
Amid the “three-ring circus” of the election, he said, six candidates have been officially named and another eight are considered possible contenders for the role.
The declared candidates
Apparently the most palatable candidate for the US is the current head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi of Argentina. Grossi, an Argentine diplomat, deals with Iran’s ambition to develop nuclear weapons while also working to prevent a nuclear disaster in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Schaefer said Grossi is “probably the most acceptable among the candidates listed so far,” given the “great courage” he has shown in his role at the IAEA.
Others include former Bolivian Vice President David Choquehuanca. Choquehuanca, a member of the Movement for Socialism, once expressed his disdain for Western thinking after his election as Bolivia’s foreign minister.
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. UN Watch said that in this role, Bachelet often condemned Israel and the US but “turned a blind eye to widespread violations by China, Turkey, North Korea, Cuba, Eritrea” and others.
According to Schaefer, it is “extremely unlikely [Bachelet] would receive US support” given her political leanings and her “remarkable lack of courage in exercising her position as High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi addresses the media at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat, Austria, upon his return from inspection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on September 2, 2022. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Getty Images)
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Former Vice President of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan, who headed the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), had recommended regulation as a means “to address the widening asymmetries” of international finance.
Schaefer said Grynspan “would not be an ideal candidate from an American perspective” because her 30-year career at the UN makes her a “consummate insider” who would likely be unwilling to “shake up the system.”
The field is completed by two external candidates, Colombe Cahen-Salvador, a left-wing political activist and co-founder of the Atlas Movement, and Bruno Donat, a fellow citizen of Mauritius and the US and an official with the UN Mine Action Service.
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Possible candidates
Although they have not yet been officially appointed by a member state, Dugan lists a number of other officials who will likely be nominated in the coming months. Many come from the left of the political spectrum and are unlikely to receive the support of the Trump administration.
Jacinda Ardern is a former prime minister of New Zealand who has resigned but is considered ‘a global icon of the left’. Schaefer noted that Ardern’s earlier resignation is not a “noisy confirmation” of her ability to take on the demanding role of secretary general.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a possible candidate for the post of UN Secretary General. (Nick Perry/AP Photo)
Mexico’s former top diplomat, Alicia Bárcena, has fourteen years of experience as head of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Other names include María Fernanda Espinosa, former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Ecuador; Nigerian Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General; Kristalina Georgieva, Director of the International Monetary Fund of Bulgaria since 2019; and former head of the UN Development Program Achim Steiner of Germany.
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“A long list of anti-American Secretaries General, supplemented by the deeply hostile Antonio Guterres, has done enormous damage to America’s international relations, fueled anti-Semitism on a global scale and seriously damaged global peace and security,” Bayefsky said.
“We are taking a back seat in this election at our peril.”
