IAEA Chief Grossi Voices Interest in UN Leadership
António Guterres' term of office expires at the end of 2026. The next Secretary-General should come from Latin America, through a geographical rotation system. A well-known UN official in Vienna, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, as chance would have it, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has now voiced interest in seeking to become UN Secretary-General when the position becomes vacant in 2027.
United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Mariano Grossi voiced his interest in seeking to become UN secretary-general when the position comes open in 2027. / Picture: © IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency / Dean Calma / Flickr Attribution (CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Rafael Grossi, the current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an Argentine diplomat, has expressed great interest in this position. He will be available in 2027. Grossi's contract as IAEA Director General was extended in 2023 until December 2027.
Rafael Grossi, 64, has had a long career in Argentine diplomacy and at the United Nations. He became Director General of the IAEA in December 2019 and previously served as Argentina's ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the IAEA, among other positions. His responsibilities at the IAEA are extensive and include nuclear talks between the US and Iran and the situation of nuclear power plants in war zones such as Zaporizhzhya in Ukraine.
There is speculation that Grossi's ambitions for the post of UN Secretary-General could influence his stance on Iran's nuclear program. Iranian officials have accused him of making unprofessional and political statements that are not supported by previous IAEA reports or inspections. It is claimed that the E3 (Germany, France, and Great Britain) have promised him the post of UN Secretary-General in return for his support in demonizing Iran and the possible reintroduction of UN sanctions (snapback mechanism).
In addition to Grossi, Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is also mentioned as a possible candidate. It is emphasized that it is time for a woman to hold this position. Other potential candidates speculated about in the media include David Choquehuanca (Bolivia), Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand), Alicia Bárcena (Mexico), Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), Kristalina Georgieva (Bulgaria), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Vuk Jeremić (Serbia), Amina Mohammed (Nigeria/United Kingdom), Mia Mottley (Barbados) and Achim Steiner (Brazil/Germany). Bolivia has already officially nominated David Choquehuanca, even though the official application period has not yet begun. Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia has publicly stated that he would like to see a woman become the next Secretary-General, thereby ruling himself out as a candidate.
The selection process for the next Secretary-General, who is due to take office on January 1, 2027, is expected to begin at the end of 2025. The support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power (the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States) is crucial for any candidate.