As the United Nations edges closer to selecting its next secretary-general, set to take office on January 1, 2027, the global chorus for a woman to lead the organization has reached a fever pitch. Recent events at the UN General Assembly, including high-profile panels hosted by Estonia and the International Peace Institute on September 23, 2025, have spotlighted the urgent need for gender parity and transparency in the selection process.
With António Guterres’ tenure ending after two unopposed terms, advocates like Susana Malcorra, Helen Clark, and Irina Bokova have decried the “double standards” faced by women candidates and warned that the UN’s legitimacy hangs in the balance if it clings to its eight-decade tradition of male leadership.
Yet amid the buzz around frontrunners like Chile’s Michelle Bachelet and Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed, one standout candidate from Africa remains conspicuously absent from the headlines, namely, Zainab Bangura of Sierra Leone. As Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) since 2018, Bangura embodies the bold, bridge-building leadership the world craves.
It is time for Sierra Leone to step forward boldly and nominate her as its official candidate and propel her into the race. Not only would this honor our nation’s trailblazing spirit, but it would position Africa as a vanguard in the fight for a more equitable UN.
Zainab Bangura’s journey is the stuff of inspiration and a testament to resilience, reform, and unyielding advocacy for the marginalized. Born in 1959 in Yonibana, Tonkolili District, Zainab Hawa Bangura, rose from humble roots as the daughter of an imam to become a force in Sierra Leone’s turbulent history. Educated at Fourah Bay College and later earning diplomas in insurance management from the University of London and Nottingham University, Bangura started her career as an insurance executive before pivoting to activism during the brutal civil war (1991–2002). She co-founded Women Organized for a Morally Enlightened Nation (W.O.M.E.N.) in 1995, a non-partisan group that empowered market women and documented atrocities against civilians by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
Bangura’s outspoken criticism of war crimes,including those against women and girls, made her a target for assassination multiple times. Undeterred, she co-founded the Campaign for Good Governance to promote democracy and human rights, and later established the National Accountability Group, which evolved into Transparency International Sierra Leone, tackling corruption head-on. Her political ascent was historic. In 2002, Bangura blazed a trail as one of the first Sierra Leonean women to run for president.
By 2007, under President Ernest Bai Koroma, she became Foreign Minister, the second woman ever in that role, navigating post-war diplomacy and multilateral ties. She then served as Minister of Health and Sanitation from 2010 to 2012, spearheading affordable healthcare programs and campaigns against female genital mutilation.
Bangura’s UN career, beginning in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) as Chief of Civil Affairs, showcased her operational prowess. She managed the mission’s largest civilian component, fostering government capacity-building and community reconciliation amid Liberia’s fragile peace. Appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012, she served as Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict until 2017. In this role, she trained security forces in conflict zones, advanced the recognition of “forced marriage” as a war crime in international law, and chaired UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, an interagency network amplifying survivor voices from Bosnia to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Today, as Under-Secretary-General and UNON Director-General, Bangura oversees the UN’s only headquarters in the Global South, a sprawling 140-acre complex hosting UNEP and UN-Habitat. She drives “greening the blue” sustainability initiatives, expands UN operations amid climate crises, and strengthens ties with African hosts like Kenya, recently welcoming Secretary-General Guterres and advocating for UN80 reforms to bolster efficiency and equity. Her leadership has turned Nairobi into a hub for Global South multilateralism, proving she can manage vast bureaucracies while keeping human rights at the core.
The case for a woman secretary-general is not just about fairness. It is about effectiveness. As Bokova noted at the September 24 Ford Foundation panel, female leadership would “strengthen the trust and legitimacy of the United Nations.” Bangura delivers that in spades, blending regional rotation, gender expertise, and crisis-tested diplomacy.
While Latin America claims the “next in line” under informal rotation norms, Africa’s underrepresentation is glaring. No African has held the post since Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992–1996), and none has been a woman from the continent. Nominating Bangura would amplify Africa’s 54 votes in the General Assembly, countering P5 dominance and echoing calls from leaders like Chile’s Gabriel Boric for “bridges between North and South.” As a Sierra Leonean who survived civil war and championed post-conflict recovery, she understands the Global South’s realities, from Sudan’s famine to Ukraine’s fallout, better than most.
Bangura’s tenure as SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict transformed UN policy, ensuring accountability for wartime rape and empowering survivors. In an era of resurgent far-right attacks on women’s rights, her voice would fortify the UN’s gender agenda, building on Guterres’ UN80 austerity measures with inclusive reforms. As Malcorra quipped, “For 80 years of men, no one questioned merit. But when women run, suddenly it has to be merit-based.” Bangura’s merit? Undeniable, awards like the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship and her chairing of the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering Committee (2016–2020) speak volumes.
The next SG inherits a “lean machine” battered by Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and US funding woes. Bangura’s playbook, from anti-corruption drives in Sierra Leone to peacekeeping in Liberia, equips her to forge consensus amid veto threats. At UNON, she’s expanded operations despite budget strains, modeling the “bold new leadership” Maria Noel Leoni of GQUAL demands. And unlike some speculated candidates like Rafael Mariano Grossi, who downplays gender’s role, Bangura champions parity as a legitimacy booster, not a box to tick.
The P5’s resistance to reforms, like advisory votes or civil society hearings, is a hurdle, but Bangura’s track record disarms it. Her work with diverse stakeholders, from Oxfam’s Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct (2018–2019) to training forces in volatile zones, shows she can navigate vetoes with Clark’s prescribed “strategy.” Even amid Trump-era anti-diversity pushes, her universal appeal, as a Muslim woman from West Africa, could sway holdouts.
Nominations open by December 2025. Sierra Leone, under President Julius Maada Bio, has a chance to make history. Bio’s administration, focused on gender empowerment, aligns with Bangura’s ethos. By endorsing her, Freetown signals to the world: Africa won’t wait for scraps, we demand a seat at the helm.
Civil society echoes this urgency. The 1 for 8 Billion campaign urges General Assembly straw polls for inclusivity, while GQUAL’s Leoni calls for nominating “women with proven dedication to gender equality.” Bangura fits perfectly. As Bachelet reflected in her PassBlue interview, “Parity is not a symbolic gesture; it improves both effectiveness and legitimacy.” Imagine a Madam SG who not only builds those bridges but walks them daily from Nairobi’s compounds to Freetown’s markets. The UN’s 80th anniversary demands a turning point. Sierra Leone, birthplace of a warrior-diplomat like Bangura, must lead the charge. Nominate her. Campaign for her. Let the world see Why not a woman from the cradle of resilience? Why not Zainab Bangura?