At the expiry of the deadline for member States to propose candidates for the election of the next Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the following candidatures have been received by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers:
- Mr Didier REYNDERS, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Minister of Defence of Belgium
- Mr Andrius KUBILIUS, Former Prime Minister, Member of the Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuania
- Ms Dora BAKOYANNIS, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Member of Parliament of Greece
- Ms Marija PEJČINOVIĆ BURIĆ, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia.
The Committee of Ministers will interview the four candidates separately in March 2019, and decide upon a final list of candidates that will be transmitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly will then proceed with the election of the next Secretary General, which is due to take place in June 2019. The mandate of the new Secretary General starts on 1 October 2019.
