Revitalization Resolution
On 5 September 2025, the General Assembly adopted on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, which sets out the process for the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General in line with Article 97 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Joint Letter
Photo credit: Haley Vandall/OPGA
According to resolution 79/327, the selection process should be formally initiated in the last quarter of the year preceding the end of the incumbent¡¯s term through a Joint Letter of the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council.
On 25 November 2025, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council signed the Joint Letter (A/80/544-S/2025/765).
Based on the discussion with the President of the Security Council of the month of October, the negotiations with the Security Council were initiated on 3 October 2025 by providing the zero draft of the Joint Letter to the President of the Security Council. The zero draft reflected all the principles and elements of the selection and appointment process, which were unanimously agreed by all Member States in General Assembly resolution 79/327.
The President of the General Assembly informed Member States in a separate letter about the discussions with the President of the Security Council in light of different views in the Security Council, highlighting that the President of the General Assembly will implement the selection and appointment process as foreseen in resolution 79/327.
The early issuance of the Joint Letter allowed for a timely initiation of the selection and appointment process.
Nomination of candidates
Over the following months, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council received nominations by Member States or groups of Member States. In accordance with resolution 79/327, nominations were published on the dedicated United Nations web page, which was regularly updated.
Interactive dialogues in the General Assembly
Inclusivity, transparency, predictability and accountability were key priorities of the selection and appointment process during the 80th session. This is why the President of the General Assembly announced in January 2026 a timetable for the interactive dialogues and encouraged nominations to be submitted until 1 April 2026. On 21 and 22 April 2026 four interactive dialogues with candidates were convened by the President of the General Assembly. Following additional nominations of candidates after the first round of dialogues, a second round of dialogues was convened on 15 and 18 June 2026 with two additional candidates. Shortly before the first and second rounds of straw polls in the Security Council in July and August 2026, additional nominations of candidates were received. A third round of interactive dialogues was convened on 19 and 20 August 2026. Following consultations with Member States, the President of the General Assembly made every effort, despite the last-minute nature of the two nominations in July and August, to facilitate interactive dialogues before the Security Council¡¯s straw polls and encouraged the Security Council, in her letters of 27 and 28 July 2026, in line with previous practice to consider only those candidates who had participated in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly. The modalities of the interactive dialogues reflected lessons learned from earlier processes, increasing civil society participation, implementing speaking time limits and automatic microphone cutoffs, structuring the dialogues according to thematic segments, and increasing their interactive nature. The same modalities were implemented for each dialogue to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates.
Modalities of the interactive dialogues, as communicated in the letters from the President of the General Assembly to Member States, and recordings of each interactive dialogue can be found on demand on the dedicated United Nations web page.
Coordination and interaction with Security Council
The President of the General Assembly attached great importance to the coordination with each monthly President of the Security Council. The Office of the President of the General Assembly worked closely and in a cooperative manner with each Presidency of the Security Council. In April and May 2026, the President of the General Assembly engaged actively with the Presidents of the Security Council regarding the Security Council¡¯s modalities for its process of consideration of candidates. The President of the General Assembly informed Member States on 13 and 29 May 2026 that she conveyed to the Security Council the expectation of the broader membership regarding transparency and inclusivity, including the need for nominations in a timely manner before the Security Council starts its deliberations in order to give all 193 Member States the opportunity to hear the candidates in the General Assembly during interactive dialogues before the Security Council begins its selection as well as the encouragement of the Security Council to conduct its deliberations in a transparent and inclusive manner, including by communicating to the General Assembly the timetable, process and results of its votes.
±¬ÁÏÍø Town Hall
Photo credit: John Lamparski/Bloomberg
On 23 July 2026, the Office of the President of the General Assembly, with the support of Bloomberg, organized and hosted a global town hall, entitled ¡°±¬ÁÏÍø Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General¡±. All six candidates, nominated by the date of the event, participated in the town hall. The 90-minute televised discussion marked the first United Nations Town Hall with candidates for Secretary-General in a decade, successfully creating an important platform for transparency, accountability, and public engagement in the selection of the Organization¡¯s next leader. The discussion was broadcast live and globally from the General Assembly Hall in New York. Member States, civil society and ±¬ÁÏÍø staff members attended in person in the General Assembly Hall. The Town Hall marked a crucial moment in the selection and appointment process, bringing all candidates nominated at the time to the General Assembly, shortly before the Security Council started its straw polls.
Handover of process to the President of the 81st session of the General Assembly
The President of the General Assembly, H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock, handed over the process to her successor at the end of her one-year term on 8 September 2026. Building on practice of previous Presidents of the General Assembly, she shared observations from conducting the process in the 80th session with Member States in a letter dated 4 September 2026.