Two Slovak contenders for the UN's top job
Eastern approaches 2014-05-23
Summary:
SLOVAK politics may influence who will be the next leader of the world’s most important intergovernmental organisation. Two candidates from Slovakia, a small central European country of 5.5m people, are serious contenders to replace Ban Ki Moon as United Nations Secretary General in 2016.
Ján Kubiš (pictured) is presently the UN’s top official in Afghanistan and was formerly secretary general of the OSCE and Slovakia’s foreign minister. Miroslav Lajčák is the country’s current foreign minister and was the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, before managing the European Union’s relationship with Russia, the Balkans and the so-called Eastern Neighbourhood.
After a series of disclaimers, about the admittedly high demands of his current job and the prematurity of Mr Ban succession talk, Mr Kubiš admits he is intrigued. “I am thinking about such an option, and provided I can secure support of the government I would like to be considered for the post,”...Continue reading