Russian envoy: next UN chief should be Eastern European woman

Russia's United Nations Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow would like to see a woman and an Eastern European take the top UN job after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaves next year, Radio Free Europe reported.

"We do believe that it's the turn of Eastern Europe to provide the next secretary-general. We would very much like to see a woman," he said on October 3, as two Eastern European women campaigned for the post.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova (left) and European Union Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva are both candidates to become the next UN secretary-general.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general has rotated among regions of the world. Officials from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Western Europe have all held the world's top diplomatic post.

Churkin, who holds the UN Security Council's rotating presidency this month, did not indicate which candidate he supports but said that after taking a straw poll on October 5 that the council will move to a formal vote within a few days.

Under the UN Charter, the secretary-general is elected by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, this has meant that the five permanent council members with veto power -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France -- have the final say.

Source: MENA