Antigua and Barbuda Nominates H.E. María Fernanda Espinosa as Candidate for United Nations Secretary General

Former President of the UN General Assembly steps forward to serve at a defining moment for the Organization and for humanity

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Government of Antigua and Barbuda today formally nominated Her Excellency María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, former President of the United Nations General Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, as its candidate for Secretary General of the United Nations. The candidacy was transmitted to the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council in accordance with the joint letter of 25 November 2025 setting out the process for the selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General.

In a letter formally presenting the candidacy, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda said his Government submitted the nomination “with deep conviction to the purposes and principles of the Charter,” and described H.E. Espinosa as possessing “the experience, judgment, independence, credibility and legitimacy” required to lead the Organization with “balance, integrity, strategic vision and, crucially, impact.” He pointed to her ability to “engage constructively with all regional and political groups,” and to a record of “innovation and delivery, including in transforming large bureaucracies.”

H.E. Espinosa is stepping forward to serve at one of the most consequential moments in the United Nations’ eighty-year history. With multiple crisis across the globe, more than one hundred armed conflicts, forced displacement at record levels, and the organization confronting the most severe liquidity crisis it has ever faced, she is offering her candidacy as a call to action for a renewed United Nations that delivers, with discipline and accountability, on the promise of its Charter.

In her Vision Statement released to Member States, H.E. Espinosa argues that what is now in question is not the relevance of the United Nations, but its credibility, the gap between what the Organization promises and what it is seen to deliver. She proposes a transformation agenda built on five pillars: peace and security; the development imperative; energy and digital transformation; closing the delivery gap; and resourcing results.

“The world does not need a larger United Nations. It needs a more effective one,” H.E. Espinosa said. “The UN must be judged not by the number of meetings it holds, but by how many lives it improves, and how effectively it contributes to peace and stability.”

“I do not approach this candidacy from the vantage point of any single bloc, region, or geopolitical alignment,” she added. “The Secretary-General must be an honest broker, impartial in perception and in practice, consistent in the application of the Charter’s principles, and equally attentive to the priorities of North and South, East and West.”

If elected, H.E. Espinosa would be the first woman to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations. She served as the fourth woman, and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean, to preside over the United Nations General Assembly (2018–2019); twice as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador; and as Minister of National Defense, the first woman to hold that office in her country’s history. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Note to Editors: The candidate’s full Vision Statement and curriculum vitae are available on request.