dimpy.handa
Dimpy Handa
Most Secretaries-General are compromise-candidates from middle powers and with little prior fame. High-profile candidates, like Bill Clinton, are often touted for the job, but are almost always rejected as unpalatable to some of the permanent member states. For instance, figures like Charles De Gaulle or Dwight Eisenhower were considered for the first Secretary-General position, but were rejected in favour of the uncontroversial Norwegian, Trygve Lie. Thus excellent leaders and statesmen are outright excluded from the selection process because the permanent five have no incentive to nominate a strong, forceful figure for the role. Popular election would reverse this bias, as only well-known international heavy-weight figures would be able to gain sufficient votes from citizens all over the world.