Uganda nominates Olara Otunnu for UN secretary general

• Uganda has nominated Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the position of UN secretary-general.

• Otunnu has more than four decades of experience in diplomacy, government and peacebuilding.

• He served as a UN under-secretary-general and introduced the selection procedure known as the “Otunnu Formula”.

• Uganda has asked UN member states to support his bid to succeed António Guterres.

Uganda has formally nominated Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the position of United Nations secretary-general, setting up a bid to lead the global body when the term of António Guterres ends on December 31, 2026.

In a statement issued on July 26, 2026, Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire Waiswa said Uganda had submitted Otunnu’s candidature, describing him as a seasoned diplomat with more than four decades of service in international diplomacy, government, academia and civil society.

The government said Otunnu’s career within the United Nations gives him the experience needed to lead the organisation at a time of growing global challenges.

Otunnu served as the UN under-secretary-general and the first special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict from 1998 to 2005. During that period, he pushed the protection of children affected by war onto the UN Security Council’s agenda and helped establish the monitoring and compliance system created under Security Council Resolution 1612, which remains in use.

Before that, he served as Uganda’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations from 1980 to 1985. While serving as president of the UN Security Council in December 1981, he introduced the straw-balloting system used to elect the UN secretary-general. The procedure later became known as the “Otunnu Formula” and has guided every election for the post since then.

At home, Otunnu served as Uganda’s minister of foreign affairs between 1985 and 1986. He also sat on the Uganda National Consultative Council during the country’s transition after the fall of Idi Amin.

Beyond government service, Otunnu led the International Peace Academy, now the International Peace Institute, from 1990 to 1998. He has also taught at Albany Law School, the American University in Paris and the Institut Français des Relations Internationales.

His work has earned international recognition, including the Sydney Peace Prize, the German Africa Prize and the Harvard Law School Alumni Association Award.

More recently, Otunnu has co-led the Roco Paco peacebuilding initiative with Chief Justice Emeritus Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, focusing on reconciliation and community rebuilding in northern Uganda after years of conflict.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in jurisprudence from Oxford University and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. He speaks English, French and Luo.

The government said Otunnu’s experience across the UN Secretariat, the Security Council, national government, academia and grassroots peacebuilding makes him well placed to lead the United Nations.

Uganda also called on UN member states to support his candidature ahead of the selection of Guterres’ successor.