EX-NZ premier joins race for top UN post
wellington — Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister who is now a senior UN official, announced on Tuesday she is running for the top position at the United Nations, saying she would bring nearly 30 years of leadership skills to the job of secretarygeneral in an ever more challenging and crisis-filled world.
Clark is the eighth candidate, and the first from outside Europe, to enter the race to succeed Ban Ki-moon, whose second term expires at the end of this year. Some in the UN are pushing for a woman to take the top role for the first time and some, including Russia, arguing that Eastern Europe has never had a secretary-general and it’s their turn.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he had personally raised the possibility of her with President Barack Obama and other senior US officials when he was in Washington last week and didn’t get any pushback. Key said he will make a similar appeal to President Xi Jinping when he visits China later this month.
“I think the position is open,” Clark said in an interview with The Associated Press in New York. “The New Zealand government is responding to that saying they think Helen is the best person for the job. So I go into it believing that at this time the critical thing for member states to look at is: What are the challenges? And what are the skill sets that are needed for the organization?”
The UN secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council, which means support from its five veto-wielding members — the US, China, Russia, Britain and France — is crucial.
The New Zealand government on Tuesday formally nominated
I think on the basis of what I’ve done in my life I’ve got the skills to do this.
Helen Clark
Clark, and Key said the wishes of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, known as the P-5, would have a big influence.
“I could make a very strong case to you that Helen Clark’s credentials are far better than any other candidate that is currently on the list, or anyone that I’m aware that might put their name forward,” Key said.
“But unfortunately, in the world of multilateralism, things aren’t quite as simple as that. There is a lot of horse-trading that goes on. It will depend enormously on the views of the P-5 and ultimately if they feel it’s the turn of the Eastern Europeans or someone else.” Clark was prime minister for nine years until 2008 and has headed the UN Development Program for the past seven years. In the AP interview, Clark said she thought the position was open.