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Will the world get a secretary or a general?
A smart analysis of the UN’s top job. And Arthur C Clarke spins it into fictional glory
The UN secretary-general presides over the world’s forum from its NY headquarters. Image by Anfaenger, Pixabay
The Big Story:
The United Nations is choosing a new secretary-general — its first leadership change in a decade — and though two women are ahead in informal ‘straw polls’, it’s not clear who will eventually be appointed the world’s chief administrator, chief diplomat and chief spokesperson.
- In fact, for the first time in the UN’s 80-year history, there is a very real chance a new secretary-general will not be agreed by December 31.
- The five permanent members of the Security Council — the US, UK, France, Russia and China — can veto a candidate.
- The UN is struggling in a might-is-right world, with Trump’s America seeking to supplant it with the ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, US withdrawal from 31 UN organisations and US failure to pay billions in back dues.
Our first book quotes the first UN secretary-general, Trygve Lie, welcoming his successor at the airport with the words: “You are about to enter the most impossible job on this earth”.
This Week’s Books:
- A close-up examination of the role of UN secretary-general.
- In science fiction, the post is hugely consequential.
Click here to read on about the books and back story
