Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan vows sweeping reform in campaign for UN’s top job

Rebeca Grynspan says she is confident about her bid to become the next United Nations secretary-general, arguing that the global body must become more agile and effective in addressing mounting global crises.

The former Costa Rican vice president said her priority would be rebuilding trust in the United Nations if she is elected to the top post. “We are very optimistic. I think that I am more than a viable candidate,” Grynspan said on Friday, her final working day before stepping aside as head of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to focus on her campaign.

The second term of current UN chief Antonio Guterres ends later this year.

“My profile is right for this moment. I know the UN enough to reform it and enough to defend it,” she told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU. She pointed to her long political career and experience in senior UN roles, saying she has taken decisions under pressure and in complex situations.

With it widely seen as Latin America’s turn to hold the post, Grynspan faces competition from former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and Rafael Grossi, the Argentinian head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Founded in 1945, the United Nations has never had a woman secretary-general. Grynspan, however, said she is not seeking the role on that basis. “I don’t need any favors to be elected for the secretary-general; I just need people not to discriminate me for being a woman,” the 70-year-old said. “If the competition will be fair, with no biases, I will make it. I have the CV; I have the merits.”

Rebuilding trust

Last month, Guterres warned that the UN was facing a severe financial crisis, with member states failing to pay their dues in full or on time.

“The UN has to change,” Grynspan said, arguing that far greater capacities now exist in civil society and the private sector than in 1945. “We need to be able to harness that: we don’t have to do everything in the UN.”

On peace and security, she stressed the importance of prevention and mediation but said the organization’s structures lack the agility and flexibility required to respond swiftly to crises.

US President Donald Trump has cut funding to several UN agencies, questioned the organization’s relevance and priorities, and created his own “Board of Peace.”

“The UN is unique because it’s the only legitimate, universal organization,” Grynspan said. “We need to rebuild trust with the member states. We need to regain the belief that the UN is useful to solve problems.”

She said she would bring inspiration and optimism to the role. “I am able to reach people not only with logic, but also with inspiration, optimism and hope. We need to connect again much more with people. We will need to conquer the hearts and minds again.”

Leadership style

Grynspan described her leadership style as “direct, honest, and evidence-based,” adding that decisions must be grounded in reason rather than emotion.

She also reflected on her personal history. Her parents, who were from Poland, “barely survived” World War II, and her maternal grandparents were killed in the Holocaust. They later emigrated to Costa Rica with nothing, she said, to a country that “allowed them to have a good life.”

“Costa Rica has taught me a lot. It’s a country that I not only love dearly, but I admire,” she said.

“I am not an impetuous person. I think things through. I have the serenity not to lose it under tension and under pressure. I consult. I hear. And I am brave. I take risks.”