# Bachelet exits UN secretary general race

> Former Chilean president withdraws after losing support in security council straw poll, leaving seven candidates to succeed Guterres.
- Title: Bachelet exits UN secretary general race · the Guardian
- Summary: Former Chilean president withdraws after losing support in security council straw poll, leaving seven candidates to succeed Guterres. Michelle Bachelet…
- Keywords: michelle bachelet, un secretary general, chile, security council, united nations, rebeca grynspan, news, world, Bachelet, exits, secretary, general
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/former-president-of-chile-withdraws-from-race-to-become-un-secretary-general
- Author: Reuters in Geneva
- Published: 2026-09-20T12:04:08+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: michelle bachelet, un secretary general, chile, security council, united nations, rebeca grynspan, news, world
## Bachelet ends UN bid
Michelle Bachelet, seventy-four, former president of Chile and UN human rights chief, has withdrawn from the race to become UN secretary general.
## Support collapsed in straw poll
A third informal security council straw poll held on Friday showed Bachelet's support had all but collapsed among the council members voting.
## Bachelet's campaign message
Bachelet had positioned her campaign around defending multilateralism and international law at a time when she said both were under sustained pressure.
## Bachelet announces decision
In a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, Bachelet said: "I will now continue, with the same determination as always, my international work."

> I will now continue, with the same determination as always, my international work.
## Grynspan takes the lead
The same straw poll that showed Bachelet's collapse put Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan in the lead among the remaining candidates in the race.
## Seven candidates remain
Bachelet's withdrawal leaves seven candidates in the race to succeed António Guterres, who concludes his second five-year term as secretary general on thirty-first December.
## Key takeaway

Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and UN human rights chief, withdrew from the UN secretary general race after her support collapsed in a security council straw poll.