Seven candidates are in the running to succeed UN Secretary General António Guterres when he steps down at the end of December after ten years in the top job.
Among that number is Jewish candidate Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, who is currently the favourite to land the position.
If she is successful, she would become the first Jewish secretary general of the UN in the body’s 80-year history.
Here, we look at Grynspan Mayufis’ credentials, her Jewish background and what she says she would bring to the role as UN chief.
Who is Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis?
Grynspan Mayufis held the officer of vice president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998 under president José María Figueres. Her cabinet positions included minister of housing and minister coordinator of economic and social affairs.
What is her family history?
Grynspan has Jewish Polish heritage – her parents fled separate parts of Poland to Russia in 1936 to escape intensifying antisemitism and fearing Nazi expansion, she told a 2022 UN podcast.
Her father arrived in Russia with most of his family, while her mother left Poland with her two sisters. Her parents who stayed behind “were killed during the Holocaust. They never saw them again”.
After the Second World War, her refugee parents – who had not yet met – both landed in displaced persons camps and attempted to reach British Mandatory Palestine. However, the British detained them both during their “illegal journey”, sequestering them on Cyprus, Grynspan said.
It was on Cyprus that they met and fell in love, according to Grynspan Mayufis. “They came to Costa Rica already married,” she said.
What other strings does she have to her bow?
Grynspan Mayufis is fluent in English and Spanish, with working knowledge of French and Portuguese. Costa Rica is the only nationality she holds, according to a profile published by the UN.
She holds a degree in economics, from the University of Costa Rica; a master's degree in economics from the University of Sussex; and honorary doctorates from the University of Extremadura; the University of Salamanca; and the European University in Madrid.
What are her chances of becoming UN secretary general?
Grynspan has come out ahead in four of the five informal straw polls held by the 15-member UN Security Council, which recommends a single candidate to the UN General Assembly.
According to the UN Charter, the “Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council”.
In the latest poll, conducted on October 7, she secured nine "encourage" votes, ahead of the other contenders.
Today, Security Council members were expected to participate in the sixth straw poll to select a candidate.
Who are the other candidates vying for the job?
Along with Grynspan Mayufis, who was nominated by Costa Rica, the candidates are: Ivonne A-Baki of Ecuador, who was nominated by Tonga; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, also of Ecuador, who was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda; Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina, who was nominated by Argentina; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, who was nominated by Uganda; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett of Guyana, who was nominated by Guyana; Macky Sall of Senegal, who was nominated by Burundi.
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