The former Senegalese President Macky Sall is actively exploring the possibility of running for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations in December 2026, at the end of the second term of the Portuguese António Guterres. Although he has not yet officially declared himself a candidate, several concordant sources, notably cited by Africa Intelligence, indicate that he has begun discrete steps to this effect on the international diplomatic scene. According to the revelations of the specialized media, Macky Sall would have evoked this ambition during a confidential meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron, last March. This meeting, held in secret, would have allowed the outlines of a possible candidacy to be discussed. An ambition that Paris would not have totally discouraged, insofar as the Elysée had already, in the past, evoked for him “very good prospects of reconversion” within international organizations, in the context of discussions on his renunciation to a third presidential mandate in Senegal. Conscious of the stakes involved in such a function, notably the need to avoid a veto by the five permanent members of the Security Council, Macky Sall works to multiply contacts in the big capitals. He would thus seek to get closer to the American administration – particularly in the perspective of an eventual return of Donald Trump to the White House – while cultivating his relations in China. Toujours selon Africa Intelligence, he would have recently exchanged with Lu Shaye, former ambassador of China in France, but also former representative of Beijing in Dakar.
Macky Sall the next Secretary General?
