Latvian Joins Race for U.N.'s Top Post 

September 16, 2006
CBS News
Original Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/16/ap/world/mainD8K5MU300.shtml

(AP) Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga joined the race to become the next U.N. secretary-general on Friday, becoming the first woman vying for the U.N.'s top post.

The former psychology professor who has led the Baltic nation since 1999 became the sixth candidate to replace Kofi Annan when his second five-year term ends Dec. 31.

Vike Freiberga faces an uphill struggle because most members states generally agree that the next secretary-general should come from Asia, part of a tradition to rotate the job between regions. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, however, has argued that the job should go to the best qualified candidate regardless of nationality.

In an informal poll of the 15 Security Council members on Thursday _ before Vike-Freiberga entered the race _ South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon came in first followed by India's Shashi Tharoor, the U.N. undersecretary-general for public affairs, and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein, the only Muslim candidate, came in fourth and former U.N. disarmament chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka was last.

The secret poll is largely meant to indicate whether the candidates should remain in the race, and some diplomats say the person who will become the eighth secretary-general in the United Nations' 60-year history may not yet have come forward.

Vike-Freierga is likely to face difficulty because China _ a veto-wielding council member _ has repeatedly said it wants an Asian candidate.