Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is set to run for the United Nations top job just weeks after announcing he will be quitting as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States.
The news was revealed by Sky News Chief Anchor, Kieran Gilbert, who said Rudd was considering a run at the Secretary-General position following conversations with various people in government.
The role, which is currently held by Antonio Guterres, will be available once Guterres concludes his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
Australian Financial Review’s Political Editor, Phil Coorey, told Sky News he expected Rudd would get bipartisan support.
‘There’s a lot of diplomacy involved. Kevin’s pretty good. Maybe they’ll just give it to him to stop him asking,’ he said.
Four people have been nominated for the head of the international organisation so far, including from Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica and Boliva.
Rudd previously attempted to run for the job in 2016 but was denied by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull on the basis he wasn’t suitable for the role.
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian in 2016, Rudd offered 10 principles to ‘reform the United Nations before it’s too late.’
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is set to run for the United Nations top job
‘Those of us who are proud to be lifelong friends of the UN today will defend the institution to the hilt. But the uncomfortable truth is that while the UN today is not broken, it is in trouble,’ Rudd wrote.
‘This need not be the case. The UN is capable of re-inventing itself.’
Among Rudd’s reflections included his advice to the incumbent Secretary-General and UN member states to anticipate, plan and prevent for future crises, ‘rather than a culture of simple reaction, “band aid” solutions, and fingers crossed.’
He also claimed the United Nations should focus on its ‘performance in the field’, rather than on writing reports, for which Rudd said there is ‘too many.’
The news of Rudd’s renewed run at the top job comes just weeks after he announced he would be stepping down as Australia’s ambassador to the United States on March 31 – a year earlier than planned.
He was appointed to the role in March 2023.
His previous comments, in which he labelled Donald Trump ‘the most destructive president in history’, resurfaced after Trump returned to office in 2024, putting renewed strain on relations despite Rudd’s efforts to mend ties.
That tension came to a head during an Oval Office exchange in 2025, when Trump told Rudd, ‘I don’t like you … and I probably never will’.
Rudd’s successor, Greg Moriarty, is a senior public servant who has previously served as ambassador to Iran and Indonesia.
More to come.