New Secretary-General Needs to Reform UN, an Organization in Crisis, Experts Say

‘The only real hope for the U.N. would be for an outsider to come in and reform it,’ one expert said.

The United Nations logo adorns a window at U.N. headquarters in New York City, on Sept. 18, 2025. Jeenah Moon/Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ second five-year term will run out later this year, and a replacement will be chosen in June.

Despite a campaign for the U.N. to get its first female secretary-general, it appears as if the favored—and only candidate so far—is Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).