It's been called 'the most impossible job on earth’. So what does the head of the UN actually do?

Author:
Rosamond Hutt

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is stepping down at the end of 2016 after two five-year terms, and the race is on to find his successor.

So far there are 12 confirmed candidates – half of whom are women – vying to become the world's most high-profile diplomat. And others who have been named in the press but haven't officially thrown their hats into the ring.

For the first time in the UN’s 70-year history, the nominations are no longer happening behind closed doors. The hopefuls have been taking part in public debates as part of a wider push to make the process more transparent and inclusive.

Whoever lands the top job at the UN will be greeted on their first day by a full in-tray – brutal conflicts, violent extremism, climate change, ongoing discrimination against women and girls, some 700 million people still living in extreme poverty and a record number of displaced people around the world. There are also 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030.

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