If one topic has dominated my inbox over the past year, it has been about the reforms needed at the United Nations. The current secretary-general kicked off the UN80 Initiative for reform, and there seems to be a broad consensus that the U.N. should become more agile, more relevant, and able to address the crises of our time.
Yet as discussions begin about who might become the U.N.’s next secretary-general, a glaring contradiction emerges: reform is being discussed, but the leadership pipeline looks stubbornly stuck in the past.
I was genuinely surprised when I looked through the names being mentioned as potential candidates for the U.N. secretary-general. Many are already at, or close to, the U.N.’s own retirement age of 65. Some would reach it during their first term.