# Antigua and Barbuda has nominated Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa as candidate to be the next United Nations Secretary-General. Espinosa, a former foreign affairs minister and defence minister in Ecuador, headed the UN General Assembly in New York in 2018 and 2019. Five candidates are now competing to take over from outgoing UN chief Antonio Guterres, including three women seeking to become the first female head. Elections are due later this year and the new Secretary-General’s five-year term will begin on January 1, 2027.
Ecuador’s Espinosa joins battle to lead United Nations