A Conservative MEP for South East England is seeking to win a new vote — to become the world’s top diplomat.
Nirj Deva, proclaiming himself a “global personality”, said that he had been formally nominated by Fiji for the post of UN Secretary-General, though the Fijuan UN mission said that it had no knowledge of this.
Mr Deva, 58, who narrowly survived the Asian tsunami in his native Sri Lanka, is the sixth candidate to stand. He is seen as a rank outsider in a field that consists of a Jordanian prince, the South Korean Foreign Minister, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, a top UN official from India and a fellow Sri Lankan who served at the UN.
Mr Annan, whose term ends in December, revealed his hope yesterday for a woman successor. At a press conference he repeatedly referred to his replacement as “she”.
British officials emphasised that Mr Deva had not been nominated by Britain.