Argentina presents Rafael Grossi’s candidacy for the UN Secretary-General

Buenos Aires.– The government of Argentine President Javier Milei presented this Wednesday the candidacy of the Argentine Rafael Grossi, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for the Secretary-General of the United Nations. “It is an honor and a privilege to present today the candidacy of Rafael Grossi for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations,” announced the Argentine Foreign Minister, Pablo Quirno, through the social network X. The chancellor highlighted that Grossi “is internationally recognized for the extraordinary work he has been carrying out as director general of the IAEA for six years now, which demonstrates his great leadership capacity in the face of serious situations that affect international peace and security.” “These tools are essential to exercise the position of secretary-general in the current international scenario, which is marked by new challenges, at a time when, 80 years after its foundation, the United Nations needs to consolidate reforms that strengthen its effectiveness and renew its international prestige,” added Quirno. also p

Diplomatic Career

Grossi, 64, is a career diplomat and a graduate in Political Science from the Catholic University of Argentina, with a master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies of the University of Geneva and a doctorate in History and International Politics from the same institution. Between 1997 and 2000, he was chairman of the United Nations Governmental Experts Group on the International Arms Register and then advisor to the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs. From 2002 to 2007 he was chief of staff of the IAEA and of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Within the Argentine Chancellery, he was general director of Political Coordination from 2007 to 2010 and has held positions in the Argentine embassy in Belgium and in the Argentine mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva. Between 2010 and 2013 he was Deputy Director General of the IAEA and between 2013 and 2019 he was Argentina’s ambassador to Austria, a position he left to head the IAEA.

Start of the process

This Tuesday, the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, announced the launch of the formal process to select and appoint the next United Nations Secretary-General to replace the Portuguese António Guterres when his term ends on December 31, 2026. The race for the Secretary-General will accelerate with the beginning of next year, in a process with different phases in which the UN member states will be able to present their candidates. The next UN Secretary-General will take office on January 1, 2027, and among the names that sound the strongest are, in addition to Grossi, that of the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Also mentioned as possible candidates are Rebeca Grynspan, former Vice President of Costa Rica; Ecuadorian María Fernanda Espinosa; Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC; and Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand.