2006 United Nations Secretary-General selection

A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 2006 to succeed Kofi Annan, whose second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations ran until 31 December 2006. Seven candidates were officially nominated for the position.

United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2006
Final straw poll, 2 October 2006
 
Candidate Ban Ki-moon Shashi Tharoor Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Country  South Korea  India  Latvia
Votes to encourage
14 / 15
10 / 15
5 / 15
P5 votes to discourage None
2 / 5
UN Secretary-General before election

Kofi Annan

 Elected UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon was elected Secretary-General in October 2006.

The United Nations Security Council conducted a series of unofficial straw polls between 24 July and 2 October. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon led the polls from the start, emerging as the only candidate with the support of all five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council (P5). After the final straw poll, all of the other candidates withdrew.[1] The Security Council conducted a formal vote on 9 October and forwarded its choice to the General Assembly, which elected Ban on 13 October.

Selection process
See also: United Nations Secretary-General selection § Procedure

The United Nations Charter provides for the Secretary-General to be appointed by the General Assembly upon the nomination of the Security Council. Therefore, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The Charter's minimal language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and accepted practices. There is an unofficial term limit of two full terms, disqualifying Kofi Annan from re-selection. A system of regional rotation is in place to select a new Secretary-General after the previous one has served two terms. The ability of a candidate to converse in both English and French is also considered an advantage, although this is not always enforced.

The Security Council conducts a series of straw polls in private to gauge the level of support for each candidate. When a candidate appears to be winning, another straw poll is taken to reveal vetoes. The candidate with no vetoes, at least 9 votes, and more votes than the other candidates is considered to be the most likely choice. The Security Council then takes a formal public vote to announce its choice, and the General Assembly votes to accept the Security Council's recommendation.

Background to the 2006 race

When the race to succeed Annan began in 2006, it was widely expected that the successful candidate would be Asian, as there had not been a Secretary-General from Asia since 1971. A number of Security Council members (including China, which has a veto) indicated they would only support an Asian candidate.[2]

Noting that all Secretaries-General to date have been men, Equality Now launched a campaign for the election of a female Secretary-General, and identified a ‘sampling’ of 18 qualified women, including Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Louise Arbour, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and Tarja Halonen.[3] Equality Now also noted that there are many qualified Asian women, including Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma, Sadako Ogata from Japan, Nafis Sadik from Pakistan, Anson Chan from Hong Kong, and Leticia Shahani from the Philippines.[4] The idea of a female Secretary-General received some support, (including from Kofi Annan and US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton[5][6]), but no Asian women were nominated.

Nominees

Seven candidates were officially nominated for the position:[7]

Official candidates
Image Candidate Position Nominated by Regional group
Ban Ki-moon Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea  South Korea Asia-Pacific Group
Shashi Tharoor Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information  India Asia-Pacific Group
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga President of Latvia  Estonia
 Latvia
 Lithuania		 Eastern European Group (EEG)
Surakiart Sathirathai Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand  Thailand Asia-Pacific Group
Ashraf Ghani Chancellor of the Kabul University  Afghanistan Asia-Pacific Group
Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Jordanian Ambassador to the United Nations  Jordan Asia-Pacific Group
Jayantha Dhanapala Former Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament  Sri Lanka Asia-Pacific Group

A number of other potential candidates were mentioned by commentators but did not run, including Bill Clinton (former President of the United States), Jean Chrétien (former Prime Minister of Canada), Anwar Ibrahim (former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia), Goh Chok Tong (Senior Minister of Singapore), Fidel Ramos (former President of the Philippines), José Ramos-Horta (Prime Minister of East Timor), Aleksander Kwaśniewski (former President of Poland), and Tony Blair (then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom).[7] However, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair did not qualify for the post, since one of the unofficial rules of the selection process is that a citizen of a permanent member could not hold the position.[8]

Selection

The Security Council conducted four straw polls, on 24 July,[9] 14 September,[10] 28 September,[11] and 2 October,[12] in which each of the 15 member states were asked whether they would "encourage" or "discourage" each of the official candidates (or if they had ‘no opinion’ on the candidate). Ban Ki-moon led all of the polls, and Shashi Tharoor came in second.

In the final poll, the permanent members voted on red paper, while the rotating members voted on white paper. Ban was the only candidate not to be vetoed, while Tharoor received one red "discourage" vote from the United States.[13] After the vote, Shashi Tharoor withdrew his candidacy,[14] and China's Permanent Representative to the UN told reporters that "it is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-moon is the candidate that the Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly".[15]

Zeid and Ghani withdrew from the race on 4 October.[16] They were followed on 5 October by Surakiart and Vīķe-Freiberga, leaving only Ban in the race.[17] The Security Council conducted a formal vote on 9 October and forwarded its choice to the General Assembly, which then appointed Ban Ki-moon on 13 October.[18]

United Nations Secretary-General selection straw poll results[19]
Candidate 24 July 14 September 28 September 2 October Final Vote
E D N E D N E D N E D N
Ban Ki-moon 1212141013111401Acclaimed
Shashi Tharoor 10231032834103 (1P)2Withdrawn
Surakiart Sathirathai 73593357347 (2P)4Withdrawn
Jayantha Dhanapala 564357375[20]WithdrawnWithdrawn
Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Not yet nominated64536628 (1P)5Withdrawn
Vaira Vike-Freiberga Not yet nominatedNot yet nominated76256 (2P)4Withdrawn
Ashraf Ghani Not yet nominatedNot yet nominated366411 (3P)0Withdrawn

2011 Re-selection

Traditionally, the Secretary-General is re-selected for a second term unless vetoed by a permanent member. Ban Ki-moon ran unopposed for a second term in 2011. The Security Council met for informal consultations on 16 June 2011, where Ban received no vetoes. The Security Council adopted Resolution 1987 by acclamation on 17 June 2011, recommending Ban for a second term ending 31 December 2016. The General Assembly adopted Resolution 65/282 on 21 June 2011, ratifying Ban's re-appointment.[21]:415

See also

References
  1. Tharoor, Shashi (October 21, 2016). "The inside Story of How I Lost the Race for the UN Secretary-General's Job in 2006". OPEN Magazine. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  2. "Support of UNSG candidates by UN member states". UNSG.org. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  3. "The Next United Nations Secretary-General: Time for a Woman". Equality Now. November 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  4. Neuwirth, Jessica (15 March 2006). "Give the U.N.'s Reins to a Woman". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  5. "International Women's Day". UNSG.org. 8 March 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  6. "Bolton pushing for female UNSG?". UNSG.org. 10 April 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  7. "Candidates for UN Secretary General". UNSG.org. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  8. "Kofi Annan: Job at a Glance". PBS. Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2016-04-20.
  9. "Ban takes 1st Straw Poll". UNSG.org. 2006-07-24. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2006-09-28.
  10. "Ban firms up lead in second Straw Poll". UNSG.org. 2006-09-14. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2006-09-28.
  11. "Ban slips but holds, Vike Freiberga pushes into third". UNSG.org. 2006-09-28. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2006-09-28.
  12. "Ban Ki-moon wins". UNSG.org. 2006-10-02. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  13. Tharoor, Shashi (21 October 2016). "The inside Story of How I Lost the Race for the UN Secretary-General's Job in 2006". OPEN Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  14. "Shashi Tharoor pulls out of UN race". NDTV. 2006-10-02. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Jordanian, Afghan candidates drop out of race for next UN chief". Xinhua. 2006-10-05. Archived from the original on 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  17. "Vike-Freiberga withdraws, Ban now sole candidate". UNSG.org. 5 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  18. "South Korean elected new UN Chief". BBC News. 2006-10-13. Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2006-10-13.
  19. "Overview of Secretary General Candidates officially nominated by Member States and the results of straw polls and vote(s)" (PDF). Center for UN Reform Education. 13 October 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  20. "Ban slips but holds, Vike Freiberga pushes into third". UNSG.org. 28 September 2006. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  21. Sievers, Loraine; Davis, Sam (2014). The Procedure of the UN Security Council (4 ed.). Oxford Univ Press. ISBN 9780199685295.
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