Costa Rica nominated former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres to be the next U.N. Secretary-General, making her the 12th candidate to enter the race ahead of the first Security Council secret ballot .

• “The United Nations, and the world, needs a Secretary-General who is a bridge builder, who can listen and consult, who can help resolve disputes, build agreements and anticipate problems. Christiana Figueres has proven to be that person,” said Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis.
• Christiana Figueres, the UN official who helped steer the Paris climate change accord to success in December, has entered the race to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the organisation’s next secretary-general.
• The other candidates nominated for the UN top post include former New Zealand PM Helen Clark , cultural organization UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, Moldova’s former Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman, and Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra.
• The 15-member Security Council will hold its first informal secret ballot on July 21 and hopes to agree on a candidate by September or October to formally recommend to the General Assembly for election.