Lebanese-origin candidate joins race for UN Secretary-General succession

Yvonne, born to Lebanese parents, previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade and Ecuador’s Ambassador to the United States. The Pacific island nation of Tonga has nominated her to run for the position, alongside seven other candidates so far.

To date, five women and three men are competing to succeed Portuguese Secretary-General António Guterres, who will complete a second five-year term on December 31, 2026, with nominations still open.

In its nomination, Tonga highlighted Abdul Baqi’s (75) role as a minister in the government, as the first woman to serve as Ecuador’s Ambassador to Washington, and as her country’s Ambassador to Qatar.

She stated, “As the only candidate with roots in both Latin America and the Middle East, and the only candidate who contributed to reaching a peace agreement between two UN member states, I am ready to help renew the fundamental promise of the UN Charter: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, in a world where conflicts are intensifying.”

Yvonne was the leading figure in an unsuccessful initiative aimed at preventing oil exploitation in one of the Amazon reserves in exchange for international financial contributions.