Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki, a diplomat who represented Quito in the United States, has entered the race to lead the UN, the head of the General Assembly said in a letter Tuesday.
Nominated by Tonga, the former foreign trade minister joins a growing field of candidates for secretary-general of the international organization, which has been buffeted by global divisions and budget issues. In its nomination, Tonga highlighted A-Baki’s roles as a cabinet minister, the first woman ambassador from Ecuador to Washington and ambassador to Qatar. The other nominees are former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Olara Otunnu of Uganda and Macky Sall of Senegal.
The environmental initiative was shelved in 2013 by then-president Rafael Correa, who authorized crude extraction in the Yasuni National Park after acknowledging the plan’s economic failure.
