Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet emerges as potential next UN Secretary General

On Monday, Chile’s representative to the United Nations (UN), Paula Narváez, said that former Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, could become the next Secretary General of the international organization, succeeding António Guterres.

In a conversation with T13 Radio, Narvaez said that “informally, representatives of different countries point to her (Bachelet) as the next Secretary General of the United Nations”.

It should be recalled that the former president was also executive director of UN Women and, until August 31, 2022, she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Narváez: “Michelle Bachelet’s name is always there”

In addition, she addressed the option of a third candidacy of Bachelet for the next presidential elections of 2025, which she has already dismissed, arguing that “Democracy does not deserve to have people repeat themselves”.

In that line, Narváez answered that “it seems normal to me that for many people she always emerges as an alternative, because of the political importance she has and the impact she has”.

“But what I can tell you is what happens to me in the United Nations and that is that, informally, representatives of different countries point her out as the next Secretary General of the United Nations as well”, Narváez said.

Then, the also former minister said that “informally I must say, I in my capacity as ambassador, of course, I listen and I have been approached directly (…) the next Secretary General of the United Nations should correspond to Latin America and the Caribbean”.

“This is always by rotation of regions. And therefore, the name of Michelle Bachelet is always there”, she added.

Finally, Narváez concluded that “the fact that a Chilean woman is being considered, that Michelle Bachelet is being considered, should be a source of pride for all Chilean men and women”.

This, “because it is clearly a recognition of Chile, but of course, of Michelle Bachelet’s trajectory”, she closed.

“It is an honor that her name is there”

Sources close to the former president -required by BioBioChile- point out that “it is an honor that her name is” as a possibility to occupy such a high position, but that anyway it is something too far ahead.

This, considering that the current Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, will remain in his post until 2026.

Thus, the same people consulted maintain that Bachelet is focused on her international role. Without going any further, she is currently on a trip to Europe with visits to Spain and France. In Madrid she will participate this week in the GWL Voices Dialogues, where the role of women in multilateralism will be discussed.

After this activity -scheduled for January 22 and 23- she will head to France for the commemoration of the International Day of Women in Multilateralism.

Once her tour of the Old Continent is concluded, the former head of state is expected to begin her vacation, which, as is now traditional, will be spent in the south of Chile.

A representante do Chile na ONU, Paula Narváez, sugere que Michelle Bachelet está sendo considerada como a possível próxima Secretária Geral da ONU.