26 February 2016 – As the process to select the next United Nations Secretary-General gets under way, the President of the General Assembly announced today that he will hold a series of informal dialogues and meetings with all potential candidates from 12 to 14 April.
Each candidate will be offered a two-hour meeting slot to present his or her candidature, and UN Member States will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with each person, Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft said at a press briefing this afternoon at Headquarters in New York on the selection and appointment process.
The General Assembly President noted that he sent a letter yesterday to all UN Member States informing them of his intention to begin the meetings with all candidates who had been formally presented by that time.
Thus far, six candidates have been officially presented: Srgian Kerim of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Vesna Pusic of Croatia; Igor Luksic of Montenegro; Danilo Turk of Slovenia; Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; and Natalia Gherman of the Republic of Moldova.
According to the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly following the recommendation of the Security Council.
The General Assembly President, along with Security Council President Samantha Power, issued a letterto Member States on 15 December 2015 to begin soliciting candidates and to set in motion the selection and appointment process.
The next Secretary-General will assume the role in January 2017. Traditionally, the UN chief has severed a five-year term, which can be renewed by Member States.

Source:  UN News Center, 27 Feb 2016