Nepal, May 27 -- he next UN Secretary-General (UNSG) will not simply manage a complex organisation; they must navigate an intricate role as both the Chief Administrative Officer and a moral anchor for a system grounded in the principles of representation, accountability, and participation-all of which are foundational to democracy. While the UN Charter implicitly embeds these values, democracy itself has often been unevenly prioritised and discussed in practice, making the Secretary-General's leadership especially consequential and vital at this moment.

But the path to the 38th floor of the secretariat building is not an easy one. The selection process for one of the toughest jobs in the world is not a popular election among the UN Memb...