World

Ecuador's Espinosa joins battle to lead United Nations

By Reuters Reuters
FILE PHOTO: United Nations General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: United Nations General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo CARLO ALLEGRI Reuters

GENEVA - Antigua and Barbuda has nominated Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa as candidate to be the next United Nations Secretary-General, a U.N. official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Espinosa, a former foreign affairs minister and defence minister in Ecuador, headed the U.N. General Assembly in New York from 2018-2019.

Five candidates are now competing to take over from outgoing U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, including three women seeking to become the first female head.

Elections are due later this year and the new Secretary-General's five-year term will begin on January 1, 2027.

(Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Kirsti Knolle)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 6:38 AM.

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