Baltics propose Latvian president for Annan's job

RIGA, Sep 15 (Reuters) The Baltic states today proposed Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

She would be the first woman to lead the organisation but is seen as an outside contender to replace Kofi Annan who must step down on December 31 as the next leader will probably be Asian.

She is scheduled to accept the nomination from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia tomorrow.

Women's groups, especially in the United States, have pushed for a woman secretary-general, a goal Latvia's leader shares.

''Sixty years of existence for the United Nations and not a woman. And not even a serious contender, frankly,'' she told Reuters before the announcement.

''It of course should be a very high priority because the United Nations should be something that the whole world can see as an example.'' Vike-Freiberga, 69, is respected in the Baltics and popular in her home country but is seen as an outsider because of the U.N.'s rotation system in picking its leader. According to tradition, the next chief should come from Asia.

''Her chances are slim because it's not Europe's time yet,'' said analyst Mark Chandler, at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies in Riga.

Candidates so far include South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon; Shashi Tharoor of India, the U.N.

undersecretary-general for public information; Surakiart Sathirathai, Thailand's deputy prime minister; and Dhanapala, a former U.N. disarmament undersecretary-general.

Jordan's U.N ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, has also entered the race. Jordan is considered part of the Asian regional group at the U.N.

The Security Council selects a secretary-general, whose candidacy has to be approved by the U.N. General Assembly.

An academic who taught psychology at the University of Montreal for many years, Vike-Freiberga's family fled Latvia in 1945 and she began her schooling in refugee camps in Germany.

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