US wants Orban to be next UN chief – WSJ

The Trump administration sees the former Hungarian leader as a joint candidate from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing, the paper has reported

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing for former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to become the next UN secretary-general, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Members of Trump’s team have already reached out to Orban, who is open to the idea but will only run if there is confidence that he can secure the job, the paper said in an article on Sunday.

The US believes that Russia and China would also support the former Hungarian leader, who would be seen as a joint candidate from the three countries, a State Department official told the outlet.

The term of current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expires on December 31. AP reported last week that none of the seven candidates to replace him, including Costa Rica’s Rebecca Greenspan, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodriguez Birkett, and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi of Argentina, currently have the required support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC): China, France, Russia, the UK, and US.

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The Trump administration considers Orban to be “the dream MAGA-conservative candidate,” who has the right ideology and knows how to exercise authority, according to the WSJ’s sources.

Orban, who left office in Hungary after 16 years in power this May, used to describe his rule as an “illiberal democracy.” The 63-year-old politician has been a harsh critic of EU’s policies, repeatedly clashing with Brussels over his moves against mass migration, a clampdown on left-wing NGOs, resistance to the LGBTQ+ agenda, and other issues.

He was one of the few European leaders to maintain contacts with Moscow after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, insisting on Hungary continuing to purchase Russian energy and decrying Western sanctions as counterproductive. The former Hungarian leader also consistently advocated stronger economic cooperation between the EU and China.

Orban has called Trump a “good friend” and visited the US to back the Republican’s presidential campaign in 2024. The US president endorsed Orban ahead of this year’s Hungarian election and sent Vice President J.D. Vance to Budapest to campaign for him, although the move did not help to deliver victory.

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A State Department official estimated that Orban would “comfortably” get eight votes in the 15-member UN Security Council, with two more also being within reach. Permanent members the UK and France, who could stand in the way of majority support for Orban, usually use their veto power cautiously, the WSJ stressed.

Trump has been increasingly unhappy with the UN during his second term, saying that the global body hasn’t come close to reaching its “tremendous potential.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last month that Moscow expects the new UN secretary-general to represent the interests of all mankind, not just a small group of Western nations as happened under Guterres. Lavrov also said several of the candidates possessed the qualities needed to be effective in the role.