Another Argentine diplomat, Virginia Gamba, enters race to be UN chief

Argentine diplomat Virginia Gamba has thrown her hat into the ring to become the next leader of the United Nations, an official for the organisation said Friday. 

Her candidacy comes as some countries push for the UN to appoint a female secretary-general for the first time in its history. The next chief will take office on January 1, 2027, succeeding Portugal’s António Guterres.

The role has traditionally rotated between regional blocs, meaning Latin America is widely expected to put forward the next secretary-general, although that informal agreement has not always been respected.

Gamba, 72, joins a field that includes former Senegal president Macky Sall, Costa Rica’s former vice-president Rebeca Grynspan, former Chile president Michelle Bachelet and Rafael Grossi, a fellow Argentine who currently heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Gamba served as the UN’s special representative for children and armed conflict between 2017 and 2025. Over a diplomatic career spanning several decades, she has specialised in disarmament, peace and international security, particularly within the UN system.

She was also linked to the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, serving on its executive council between 1985 and 1996. In 1995, the organisation shared the Nobel Peace Prize with physicist Joseph Rotblat for its efforts to promote nuclear disarmament. 

Gamba’s nomination has been put forward by the Maldives, while Argentina’s government, led by President Javier Milei, has backed Grossi’s candidacy. Each contender must be formally nominated by a state or group of states, but not necessarily by their country of origin.

Both Argentine candidates have argued that the UN must regain a central role in preventing wars at a time when armed conflicts have proliferated worldwide.

The UN Security Council – with its five permanent members with veto power, the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France – will ultimately determine which candidates move forward. The council is expected to begin the formal selection process by the end of July.

Only after the council recommends a candidate can the UN General Assembly elect the secretary-general, who serves a five-year term that can be renewed once.

– TIMES/AFP/NA