The Government of Uganda has officially nominated Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations, citing his extensive experience in international diplomacy, peacebuilding, and public service.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, the government described Otunnu as a distinguished Ugandan statesman and international civil servant with more than four decades of leadership at the highest levels of the United Nations, government, academia, and civil society.
Otunnu served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict from 1998 to 2005. During his tenure, he elevated the protection of children affected by war onto the UN Security Council’s agenda and spearheaded the creation of the monitoring and compliance mechanism established under Security Council Resolution 1612, which remains in force today.
He previously served as Uganda’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1980 and 1985. In December 1981, while serving as President of the UN Security Council, he introduced the straw-balloting procedure for selecting the UN Secretary-General, a process that later became widely known as the “Otunnu Formula” and has been used in every Secretary-General election since.
At the national level, Otunnu served as Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1986 and was a member of the Uganda National Consultative Council during the country’s transition following the fall of the Idi Amin regime.
Beyond government service, he served as President of the International Peace Academy—now the International Peace Institute—from 1990 to 1998 and has taught at Albany Law School, the American University in Paris, and the Institut Français des Relations Internationales.
His contributions to international peace and human rights have earned him several prestigious accolades, including the Sydney Peace Prize (2005), the German Africa Prize (2002), and the Harvard Law School Alumni Association Award (2007).
More recently, Otunnu has co-led the Roco Paco peacebuilding initiative with Chief Justice Emeritus Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, focusing on reconciliation and community rebuilding in northern Uganda after decades of conflict.
Otunnu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. He is fluent in English, French, and Luo.
The Government of Uganda said it is confident that Ambassador Otunnu’s broad experience across the UN system, national leadership, academia, and grassroots peacebuilding makes him well-positioned to lead the United Nations during a critical period in global affairs.
The term of the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, expires on December 31, 2026. Uganda has called on all UN Member States to support Ambassador Otunnu’s candidature.
