KAMPALA – The Government of Uganda has nominated and submitted the candidature of Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the position of the 10th Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The nomination of the distinguished Ugandan statesman and international civil servant was announced over the weekend by the Permanent Secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa.
Olara Otunnu, 75, brings over four decades of distinguished service at the highest levels of international diplomacy, having served within the UN system and in senior leadership roles across government, academia, and civil society.
He becomes the seventh official candidate to enter the race to succeed current Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on 31st December 2026.
Within the UN system, Ambassador Otunnu served as Under-Secretary-General and the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict from 1998 to 2005.
During that period, Otunnu placed the protection of war-affected children on the agenda of the UN Security Council and designed the landmark compliance and monitoring regime adopted under Security Council Resolution 1612 in 2005, which remains in operation to date.
Ambassador Otunnu served as Uganda’s UN Permanent Representative from 1980 to 1985 and later assumed the presidency of the Security Council in December 1981.
During his Council presidency, he introduced the straw-poll system for electing the UN Secretary-General, a lasting procedure now widely known as the Otunnu Formula.
Otunnu served as Uganda’s Foreign Minister from 1985 to 1986 and joined the National Consultative Council during the transitional period following the fall of the Idi Amin regime.
He also led the International Peace Academy as President from 1990 to 1998 and held distinguished academic positions at three prestigious international institutions.
Ambassador Otunnu has stressed the need for continued institutional reform of the United Nations while prioritizing efforts to end major international conflicts.
He has also pledged to promote the establishment of a UN oversight body in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as to strengthen the response to climate change without undermining economic growth.
In recent years, Mr. Otunnu has co-led Roco Paco, a community-rooted peacebuilding initiative alongside Chief Justice Emeritus Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, dedicated to healing and rebuilding communities in northern Uganda following over two decades of conflict.
The selection process now advances to the UN Security Council, where the 15-member body will hold its first confidential straw poll on July 30.During these informal secret ballots, Council members indicate their level of support for each candidate across successive voting rounds held behind closed doors.
The candidate must secure at least nine votes while avoiding a veto from any permanent member to become the 10th Secretary-General, officially assuming office on January 1, 2027.
About the Author
