Annalena Baerbock, who recently served as President of the UN General Assembly, is openly advocating for a female successor to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, whose term is set to end in December. Speaking to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Baerbock stated, “It is time for a woman.” She pointed out that until now, the highest office at the United Nations has exclusively been held by men.
While heading the General Assembly process to select a replacement for the Portuguese leader Guterres, Baerbock highlighted the global demographic imbalance. “Half of humanity are women and girls,” she told the newspaper. “How can an institution that represents eight billion people and has stood for human rights for 80 years explain that it cannot find a woman in its leadership even after eight decades?”
However, Baerbock ruled out a personal run. When pressed about the possibility of applying for the UN Secretary-General position, she declined, noting, “No. According to the unwritten rotation rules, Latin America is next in line. There are excellent women from that region.”
Baerbock also offered a reflection on the state of international law, expressing disappointment that there appeared to be more resistance coming from Germany and Europe than expected regarding the attacks on the UN Charter and global peace order by the US under Donald Trump. She observed, “International law has always only been as strong as those who are willing to defend it. Unfortunately, some find it particularly difficult these days to simply say with confidence and clarity: This is in absolute contradiction to international law and thus to our national security interests.” She added a critique of those who previously spoke from a position of comfort, suggesting they might need to fundamentally reconstruct their understanding of the UN, stating, “The UN was never built for simple times.”
On a more personal note, Baerbock discussed how she deals with often severe criticism. She shared that moving to New York allowed her to regain “a measure of anonymity and therefore freedom” in her new life. She also addressed her stance on misogynistic defamation, stating defiantly: “Happy women in positions of power are still not a given for some men, but are obviously the worst trigger. But we are too many now. And we women will not apologize for that or stop being self-assured, successful, and joyful.”
Finally, when asked which women had helped open doors for her political career, Baerbock acknowledged Angela Merkel, saying to the “SZ”, “Without Angela Merkel as Chancellor, I probably would never have become the first female foreign minister.”
