For too long, United Nations secretaries-general have preferred to virtue-signal and jet-set around the globe rather than manage their organization. Current U.N. chief Antonio Guterres has taken about 190 official trips spanning nearly 900 days — the figure would be even higher without a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pair each of these trips with prep time, then throw in annual leave, and the fact is that the former Portuguese politician treated New York City as little more than a pied-à-terre; something for which ordinary New Yorkers would pay a $50,000 tax.
Several names have emerged to replace Guterres. Rumor has it former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban could throw his hat in the ring, and might even garner American, Russian, and Chinese support. There is talk that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan’s president and a former director-general of the U.N. Office at Geneva, could also be a compromise candidate. Lana Nusseibeh, a prominent Emirati diplomat, garners excitement; she speaks Arabic, English, and Hebrew and comes from a prominent Palestinian family.
