UN chief hopefuls to be quizzed by members

The election of the next UN Secretary General will be “historic” and “game-changing” as the member states will interact and question all potential candidates with equal representation being given to women aspirants for the first time in its 70-year-old history.

As the process to select the next UN Secretary-General gets under way, General Assembly president Mogens Lykketoft said that he will hold a series of informal dialogues and meetings with all potential candidates from April 12 to 14.

Each candidate will be offered a two-hour meeting slot to present his or her candidature, and UN member states will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with each person, Mr Lykketoft said here on Friday.

“I think this is quite historic and potentially game-changing for the way the Secretary-General is appointed,” Mr Lykketoft said.

India, along with a majority of UN member states, has called for changing and improving the existing process of selecting the world body’s chief.

In a first, UN Security Council president for December US envoy Samantha Power and General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft had circulated a letter last month to the 193 UN members soliciting names of candidates for the next UN chief.