Ambassador Olara Otunnu
The Government of Uganda has officially nominated Ambassador Olara Otunnu as its candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The term of the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, ends on December 31, 2026, and the selection process for his successor, who will assume office in January 2027, is already underway.
In a statement, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, said Ambassador Otunnu brings more than four decades of distinguished service in international diplomacy, having held senior leadership positions within the United Nations, government, academia, and civil society.
Bagiire noted that within the UN system, 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 his tenure, he transformed the mandate into one of the UN’s most influential offices dedicated to protecting children affected by war.
At the national level, Otunnu served as Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1985 and 1986. He also served as a member of the Uganda National Consultative Council during the country’s transitional period following the fall of Idi Amin’s regime.
His contributions to international peace, diplomacy, and human rights have earned him several prestigious international accolades, including the Sydney Peace Prize (2005), the German Africa Prize (2002), and the Harvard Law School Alumni Association Award (2007).
In recent years, Otunnu has co-led Roco Paco, a community-based peacebuilding initiative alongside Chief Justice Emeritus Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo. The initiative focuses on healing and rebuilding communities in northern Uganda after more than two decades of conflict.
Ambassador Otunnu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School. He is fluent in English, French, and Luo.
”The Government of Uganda is confident that Ambassador Otunnu’s unique breadth of experience, spanning the UN Secretariat, the Security Council, national government, academia, and grassroots peacebuilding, makes him exceptionally well suited to lead the United Nations at this critical juncture in global affairs,” Bagiire said.
The Government has called upon all United Nations member states to support Ambassador Otunnu’s candidature.
Otunnu joins a competitive field of candidates seeking to succeed Guterres. Among them is former Senegalese President Macky Sall, whose candidature was submitted by Burundi with the backing of the Senegalese government.
Also in the race is Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She has been nominated jointly by Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.
Argentina has nominated Rafael Grossi, the country’s veteran diplomat who has served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2019.
Other candidates include Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa.
Although not formally required under the UN Charter, there is a long-standing tradition of regional rotation in selecting the Secretary-General. This time, Latin American countries are making a strong case that it is their region’s turn to lead the organization.
At the same time, many UN member states and advocacy groups are calling for the election of the first woman to serve as Secretary-General in the organization’s 80-year history.
