The President’s Government Javier Miley presented the Argentine’s candidacy on Wednesday Rafael Grossicurrent general director of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)for the General Secretariat of the United Nations.
The next Secretary General of the UN will take office on January 1, 2027 and among the names that sound the most strongly are, in addition to Grossi, that of the former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.
“It is an honor and a privilege to present today the candidacy of Rafael Grossi for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations”announced the Argentine Foreign Minister, Pablo Quirno, through the social network X.
It is an honor and a privilege to present the candidacy of Rafael Grossi today (@rafaelmgrossi) to the position of Secretary General of the United Nations.
Rafael Grossi is internationally recognized for the extraordinary task he has been performing as General Director of…
— Pablo Quirno (@pabloquirno) November 26, 2025
The chancellor highlighted that Grossi “is internationally recognized for the extraordinary task he has been carrying out as director general of the IAEA for six years now, which demonstrates his great leadership capacity in the face of serious situations that affect international peace and security.”
“These tools are essential to carry out the position of secretary general in the current international scenario, which is marked by new challenges, at a time when, 80 years after its founding, “The United Nations Organization needs to consolidate reforms that strengthen its effectiveness and renew its international prestige.”Quirno added.
Diplomatic career
Grossi, 64, is a career diplomat and graduate in Political Science from the Argentine Catholic University, with a master’s degree in International Relations from the University Institute of Higher International Studies of the University of Geneva and a doctorate in History and International Politics from the same house of higher studies.
Between 1997 and 2000 he was chairman of the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on the International Arms Register and then advisor to the United Nations Under-Secretary-General on Disarmament.
From 2002 to 2007 he was chief of staff of the IAEA and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Within the Argentine Foreign Ministry, he was general director of Political Coordination from 2007 to 2010 and has held positions in the Argentine embassy in Belgium and in the Argentine mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva.
Between 2010 and 2013 he was Deputy Director General of the IAEA and between 2013 and 2019 he was Argentina’s ambassador to Austria, a position he left to direct the IAEA.
Start of the process
On Tuesday, the president of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbockannounced the launch of the formal process to select and appoint the next Secretary General of the United Nations to replace the Portuguese António Guterres when his mandate ends on December 31, 2026.
The race for the General Secretariat will accelerate with the beginning of next year, in a process with different phases in which the UN member states They will be able to present their candidates.
They also sound like possible candidates Rebecca Grynspanformer vice president of Costa Rica; the ecuadorian María Fernanda Espinosa; Mia MottleyPrime Minister of Barbados; Alicia Barcenaexecutive secretary of ECLAC; and Jacinda Ardernformer Prime Minister of New Zealand.
