Ex-NZ premier joins bid for post of UN chief

United Nations

FORMER New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Monday she would campaign to be the next UN secretary-general, pledging to improve transparency and touting her leadership experience in a bid to become the first woman to head the world body.

New Zealand submitted a letter on Monday to the president of the 193-member General Assembly formally nominating Ms Clark, who heads the UN Development Programme, as a candidate to succeed Ban Ki-moon as secretary-general.

Mr Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, will step down at the end of 2016 after two five-year terms. The top job at the United Nations has always been held by a man, since the body's inception 70 years ago, and there is a strong push for a woman to be elected. "I'm seeking election on the basis of the skills that I have, and I would expect in the 21st century to be given equal consideration to any male applicant," Ms Clark, New Zealand prime minister from 1…