United Nations Secretary-General selection

United Nations Secretary-General selection is the process of selecting the next secretary-general of the United Nations. To be selected as secretary-general, a candidate must receive the votes of at least nine members of the United Nations Security Council, with no vetoes from permanent members. The secretary-general is then appointed by a majority vote of the United Nations General Assembly.

Although the process is informally called an election,^[1] the United Nations refers to it as the "procedure of selecting and appointing the next United Nations secretary-general."^[2] Since the General Assembly has never refused to appoint the person recommended by the Security Council, it is the selection of the Security Council that determines the next secretary-general of the United Nations.