The former president of Chile and the first Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, has withdrawn her candidacy for the position of United Nations Secretary-General.
The announcement was made on social media. Bachelet also released a letter of resignation to the bid, in which she defends multilateralism and the choice of a Latin American woman.
She was the Brazil- and Mexico-backed candidate to replace the current secretary-general, António Guterres, who will complete his second term on December 31, 2026.
In the letter, Bachelet thanks President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum, and also former Chilean president Gabriel Boric.
According to sources familiar with the process, the countries supported her candidacy with their ambassadors hosting the former president in the countries she visited to campaign.
Bachelet writes in the letter that the result of the informal consultation (straw polls) signaled to her that it was time to step down from the candidacy. In yesterday’s vote, she received 11 discouraging votes.
Read below the full letter.
Santiago, September 19, 2026
Humanity faces today unprecedented challenges. To the various conflicts in different parts of the world, which threaten peace and security, are added challenges related to development inequalities, to the climate change crisis, and to the governance of disruptive new technologies. The decisions we make today will be decisive for the world of tomorrow. Therefore, the United Nations is today more necessary than ever in its history. Multilateralism, which was born to bring all countries together as equals, is under threat; international law is being violated constantly; climate change is denied; and human rights are in constant danger. Defending these principles was the banner of my candidacy.
In this context, the choice of the next secretary-general is a decision that matters to millions of people. I am convinced that leadership is not only knowing when to advance. It is also knowing when to give up so that the process can run its course. The results of the Security Council’s informal ballots indicate that this moment has arrived. And I accept it with the same conviction with which I undertook this candidacy. I do not regret having undertaken this great challenge. We contributed to placing in the global debate that the next secretary-general should be a woman from Latin America, a person truly independent and loyal to the principles of the Organization’s Charter, and who will defend them rigorously in relation to states, regardless of their size or power. Because this is a key way for the UN to regain credibility.
With the support of Brazil and Mexico, we visited practically all member countries of the Council with our message to reform the organization to make it more efficient in its core tasks and to restore confidence in global citizenship; we participated in four international debates and in multiple forums. And we did this with the conviction that a better future for the world is possible.
I thank with special recognition Presidents Inácio Lula da Silva and Claudia Sheinbaum, who supported this candidacy from the first day with generosity and real political conviction. Also former president Gabriel Boric, who chose to co-sponsor this candidacy as a state challenge with multilateralism and with the region. Finally, to thousands of Chileans and Chileans, Latin Americans and Latin Americans, and people from various countries around the world who have expressed their affection and support for me.
I continue to believe that the United Nations needs and deserves to be led by a woman. I firmly support that the secretary-general, after 80 years since its creation, be held by a woman from Latin America. Our region has the experience and values to lead this institution, so I hope that moment will come.
Now I will continue, with the same determination as always, the international challenge. I will remain active in the task of building a world of greater peace, security, sustainable development, and respect for human rights. Today more than ever it is necessary to persevere in civilizational values, in the promotion and defense of democracy, in the norms of the United Nations Charter, and in multilateralism.
Michelle Bachelet Jeria
Former President of the Republic of Chile
