The woman vying to be first Caribbean head of the UN

 A Guyanese diplomat who grew up without electricity or running water in a remote Indigenous community is now seeking to lead the United Nations, promising to make climate finance, international cooperation and institutional reform central to her tenure.

Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Guyana’s permanent representative to the UN, was formally nominated by her country on 15 June for the position of secretary general. If elected, she would become the first Caribbean national and first woman to hold the post. The UN lists her among the candidates competing to succeed António Guterres at the end of 2026.

Her candidacy has secured the backing of CARICOM leaders, who endorsed her at their July summit in Saint Lucia. The regional bloc said the appointment comes at a critical moment for the international community and expressed its “full endorsement” of Rodrigues Birkett.

Rodrigues Birkett’s political career began in Guyana, where she worked as a teacher before becoming minister of Amerindian Affairs at 27. She later served as foreign affairs minister and foreign trade minister before moving to the diplomatic service.

Her early life has shaped the perspective she says she would bring to the world’s largest multilateral institution. Born on 16 September 1973 in Santa Rosa, she grew up in an Arawak community where there were no proper roads, electricity or running water. She studied by oil lamp before leaving for Georgetown and eventually receiving a scholarship to study business administration at the University of Regina in Canada.

Climate change is expected to be one of her principal priorities. Rodrigues Birkett has argued that vulnerable developing countries need easier access to financing as extreme weather places mounting pressure on their economies.

“We’re not short of commitments,” she said. “The deficit is in implementation.”

Her campaign has also stressed the importance of keeping the UN relevant at a time when confidence in multilateral institutions is under pressure. In July, she told China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi that “multilateralism is not an option but a necessity” as conflicts, climate change and development challenges intensify.

The race has already become competitive. In a Security Council straw poll on 30 July, Rodrigues Birkett reportedly finished second, one vote behind Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan.

The African Union has also engaged with Rodrigues Birkett, with its chairperson discussing reforms aimed at making the multilateral system more inclusive and responsive to developing countries.

For the Caribbean, her campaign represents more than a bid for a prestigious diplomatic post. It is an attempt to place small states, climate vulnerability and the concerns of the Global South closer to the centre of the UN’s agenda.

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