GEORGETOWN: Guyana has formally entered the contest to choose the next secretary-general of the United Nations, nominating its ambassador to the world body, Carolyn Rodrigues-Burkett, for the organisation’s highest office.
President Irfaan Ali announced the decision in a national address late on Friday, describing the veteran diplomat as a capable and experienced leader who could guide the United Nations through increasingly complex global challenges.
Rodrigues-Burkett, 52, has served as Guyana’s permanent representative to the United Nations since 2020 and played a leading role during the country’s 2024-2025 tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
President Ali said her vision focuses on strengthening multilateral cooperation, improving the organisation’s efficiency and ensuring that it remains equipped to tackle contemporary threats.
“Guyana has emerged as an influential voice on the global stage,” Ali said, citing the country’s successful term on the Security Council as evidence that the South American nation can contribute leadership beyond its borders.
He added that Rodrigues-Burkett possesses the diplomatic experience, judgement and expertise required for the position. The nomination comes as current UN Secretary-General António Guterres prepares to leave office at the end of 2026 after completing two consecutive terms. The Portuguese diplomat has led the organisation since January 2017.
Before taking up her current role in New York, Rodrigues-Burkett served as Guyana’s foreign affairs minister from 2008 to 2015. She later joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations as Special Coordinator for Parliamentary Partnerships and subsequently headed the agency’s liaison office in Geneva between 2017 and 2020.
Her candidacy is expected to add momentum to growing international calls for the UN to appoint its first female secretary-general. Since the organisation’s establishment in 1945, no woman has occupied the post.
Latin American countries are also pressing for the position to return to their region under the principle of geographical rotation, although the practice is not formally binding.
Rodrigues-Burkett joins an increasingly competitive field of contenders. Among those widely considered potential successors to Guterres are former Chilean president and ex-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, former Ecuadorian foreign minister María Fernanda Espinosa, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi of Argentina, and former Senegalese president Macky Sall.
Should she prevail, Rodrigues-Burkett would become both the first Guyanese and the first woman to lead the United Nations, marking a historic milestone for the 193-member organisation.
