The Council of Europe has announced the list of candidates who have entered the running for the top job of Secretary-General.
The deadline for member countries to submit their candidates expired on Wednesday. Belgium has named EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, Estonia has named actor and politician Indrek Saar, and former President Alain Berset was put forward by Switzerland.
The Council of Europe is a human rights organisation separate from the EU. It is based in Strasbourg and comprises 46 members including all 27 EU Member States.
The organisation's current Secretary-General is Croatian politician Marija Pejčinović Burić, whose five-year mandate will end on 18 September 2024. Now that the candidates have been announced, interviews in March will result in a shortlist that the Parliament will vote on in June.
Who's who?
Reynders, who already ran for the position in 2019 and lost to Burić, will not stay on in the Commission due to his Mouvement Reformateur (MR) colleague Charles Michel's decision to leave his European Council President post early in order to run for a seat in the European Parliament. Only one of the Belgian politicians would be eligible to enter the EU executive body, and Michel's success would pose too big a threat to Reynders' future there.
Saar led Estonia's Social Democratic party from 2019 to 2022 and served as Minister for Culture from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his career in politics, he starred in the TV show 'Õnne 13' for 20 years.
Berset is another Social Democrat and stepped down as Swiss President in December. He served as Health Minister and Interior Minister during his 11-year stint in office and oversaw the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
