UN starts second-round audition for secretary-general candidates

Argentina's Minister of Foreign Affairs Susana Malcorra, a UN secretary-general candidate, meets with the press after UN's second round of public audition in New York on June 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations on Tuesday kicked off a second round of public audition with another two new candidates for the position of next UN secretary-general.

The two candidates are Slovakia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajcak and Argentina's Minister of Foreign Affairs Susana Malcorra.

They are expected to present themselves in front of representatives of UN member states and answer questions publicly from the representatives as well as from the civil society, which will be broadcast through website.

Lajcak was European Union special representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007 to 2009. He also once served as Slovak ambassador to Japan from 1994 to 1998.

Malcorra was chef de cabinet to the UN executive office, appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012, prior to her current post. She also served as UN under-secretary-general for Department of Field Support which is responsible for delivering logistical support to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide.

From April 12-14, nine UN secretary-general candidates have gone through the public audition of this kind.

The nine candidates are: Montenegro's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Igor Luksic, Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres, former Slovenian President Danilo Turk, former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, former Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman, Administrator of UN Development Program Helen Clark, former Foreign Minister of Macedonia Srgjan Kerim, former Foreign Minister of Serbia Vuk Jeremic.

Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the 15-member Security Council and its five permanent members will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Ban is going to conclude his term at the end of 2016. The council's decision to select the top leader of the world organization shall come late this year.