Three Women on Short List to Take Over Helm at the U.N.

by Duchess Magazine
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Along one wall in the visitor’s lobby of the United Nations hang the portraits of eight men, including Ban Ki-moon, the current secretary-general, who have presided over the institution since it was founded in 1945.

A new portrait is due to appear on that wall soon and there is a pretty good chance it will bear the visage of a woman.

Three out of the seven officially declared candidates for the next secretary-general are women (more candidates may be nominated over the coming weeks). And while it is not the first time a woman has been in the running for the job, it is the first time that one, let alone three, has a viable chance of getting it.

Here’s a closer look at the three female candidates:

Irina Bokova (Bulgaria), UNESCO director-general and former foreign minister of Bulgaria, is a favorite of many for her experience leading one of the largest U.N. agencies. She has long championed human rights, cultural dialogue and gender equality.

Vesna Pusić (Croatia), deputy speaker of the Croatian Parliament and former first deputy prime minister and Croatian minister of foreign and European affairs, has been very successful in national politics and is an accomplished sociologist.

Natalia Gherman (Moldova), former minister of foreign affairs and European integration of Moldova, is a career diplomat admired for her negotiation and conflict resolution skills. In 2014 The Guardian U.S. named her one of the “seven women to watch in global politics who are leading positive change all over the world.”

Selection Process

You might have noticed all three (as well as three out of the four male candidates) come from Eastern Europe. This is not a coincidence, but rather in line with the unwritten rule of regional rotation and that it is now Eastern Europe’s “turn” to produce a secretary-general.

That tradition is one of the many arcane aspects of the selection process, which, with few official rules to govern it, has historically involved horse-trading and secret deals behind closed doors.

The choosing process involves the U.N. Security Council settling on a single nominee who is acceptable to the five permanent member states with veto-wielding power on the council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The group sends that name to the U.N. General Assembly for its rubber stamp.

This time around, however, the two main bodies of the U.N. are heeding some of the calls for greater transparency and more input from member states.

For the first time, they have asked member states to nominate candidates for the position and will give them opportunities to ask the candidates questions over three days of informal dialogues in April. The Security Council will remain influential in the process, but the General Assembly will have a greater than usual say in the matter and could be in a position to make an informed decision after getting to know and debating the merits of all the candidates.

The notion that it is high time for a woman to take the reins of the U.N. has gained momentum over the past year, both within the institution and in popular opinion, with many civil society groups advocating and campaigning for it.

A female secretary-general would not necessarily compensate for or correct the gender imbalances that prevail at the higher levels of the U.N. Secretariat. Yet, the symbolism could set a new tone and nudge the grizzled institution to internalize the wisdom of its own insistence that including women in decision-making produces better outcomes for all.

Whoever assumes the position will serve a five-year term beginning in January 2017, which can be renewed once for an additional five years.

Ms. Natalia Gherman currently serves as Deputy Prime-minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova. She is a career diplomat holding the diplomatic rank of Ambassador. In June-July 2015 she was Acting Prime-minister of the Republic of Moldova.

Ms. Gherman began her long career in service to her country as the Second Secretary for the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova from 1991-2; then First Secretary for the Department of European Organizations from 1992-4. From 1994-7, Ms Gherman served as Counselor and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the OSCE and the UN Agencies in Vienna; from 1997-2001, becoming the Deputy Head of the Department of European Security and Political-Military Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova. Ms. Gherman served as Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Brussels as well as Deputy Head of the Mission of Moldova to NATO from 2001-2. This led to Ambassadorships, first as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Moldova to the Republic of Austria as well as Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Vienna and to the OSCE. Representing her country to the OSCE in Vienna, Ms. Gherman has been a prominent contributor to the efforts of the Organization on identifying solutions to the unresolved conflicts in the OSCE area, at the same time mobilizing the potential of the OSCE community towards the resolution of the Transnistrian conflict in the Republic of Moldova in accordance with the International Law. From 2006-9, Ms. Gherman served as first resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Finland. For her merits in promoting relations between Sweden and Moldova, His Majesty the King of Sweden awarded Ms. Gherman the Royal Order of the Polar Star of the Kingdom of Sweden in the rank of Commander First Class.

 As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova in 2009-13, Ms. Natalia Gherman was the Chief Negotiator on behalf of the Republic of Moldova for the Association Agreement, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and the visa liberalization dialogue with the European Union. For the successful negotiations of these crucial Agreements that paved the way for Moldova’s European Integration, in 2014 Ms. Gherman was awarded the highest national distinction – the Order of the Republic of Moldova.

 In 2013, Ms. Gherman was honored with dual role of Deputy Prime-minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. She also served as Member of the Parliament in 12/2014 – 2/2015, being member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Since 2/2015 when the new Government was sworn in as a result of the Parliamentary elections, Ms. Gherman resumed her current role as Deputy Prime-minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Policy and European Integration.

Ms. Natalia Gherman was born in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. She received her BA from the State University of the Republic of Moldova and her MA in War Studies from London University’s King’s College.

She is mother to son Mircea Gherman and the daughter of Moldova’s first President Mircea Snegur (1990-7).

In March 2014, Ms. Natalia Gherman was among seven most impressive women leaders in the world, selected by The Guardian UK for the ranking “Seven women to watch in global politics who are leading positive change all over the world”.

Irina Bokova, currently serves as the Director-General of UNESCO.

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria she graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and studied at the University of Maryland (Washington) and the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University).

 Ms. Bokova joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria in 1977 where she was responsible for human rights and equality of women issues. She was later appointed in charge of political and legal affairs at the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the United Nations in New York. She was also a member of the Bulgarian Delegation at the United Nations conferences on the equality of women in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995).

As Member of Parliament (1990-1991 and 2001-2005), she participated in the drafting of Bulgaria’s new Constitution, which contributed significantly to the country’s accession to the European Union. Ms. Bokova was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Coordinator of Bulgaria-European Union relations from 1995 to 1997; Ambassador of Bulgaria to France, Monaco and UNESCO from 2005 to 2009; and Personal Representative of the President of Bulgaria to the “Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie” (OIF).

 Irina Bokova is an active member of many international experts networks. She is a President and founding member of the European Policy Forum. For many years she has worked to overcome European divisions and to foster the values of dialogue, diversity, human dignity and human rights.

 As Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova is actively engaged in international efforts to advance quality education for all, gender equality, cultural dialogue and scientific cooperation for sustainable development and is leading UNESCO as a global advocate for safety of journalists and freedom of expression.

Dr. Vesna Pusić is First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia. Dr. Pusić is an accomplished sociologist and politician, graduating in 1976 with a degree in philosophy from the University of Zagreb and earning a doctorate in sociology in 1984 from the University of Zagreb.

 As an academic she conducted research at the International Research Group – IDE (1975 to 1979), the Institute of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia (1976 to 1978) and since 1978 she has been associated with the University of Zagreb. Her research covers theories of industrial democracy and the sociology of politics. Dr. Pusić has also lectured at the University of Chicago, Cornell University, American University in Washington DC and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.

 In 1978, Dr. Pusić and seven other women formed the first feminist organization in SFR Yugoslavia, Žena i društvo. She was also a founder and director of the nongovernmental organization, Erasmus Guild (1993-1998), which promoted cultural democracy in post-conflict transition Croatia and the Balkans.

 Dr. Pusić entered politics officially as a founding member of the Croatian People’s Party in 1990. After leaving for a few years, she returned in 1992 and later served as president of the party from 2000 and 2008, and later again in 2013. In 2000, she was elected to the Croatian Parliament and from 2003 to 2007 she served as the Deputy Speaker. From 2006 to 2012, she was the vice-president of the European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party and from 2008 to 2012 she was the Chairperson of the National Committee for Monitoring the Accession Negotiations between Croatia and the European Union. Dr. Pusić ran as the HNS-LD party candidate for president of Croatia during the 2009-2010 election, and served in 2013 as the party’s president.

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