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Associated Press

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is making a late bid for the top United Nations job, after months of cross-crossing the world in low-key lobbying for government support.
Rudd had requested that the Australian government take the crucial step of formally nominating him to succeed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term ends December 31.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that decision would be made by Australia’s next cabinet, which will be named Monday following July 2 elections and sworn in as early as Tuesday.
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Rudd, the New York-based president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he understood his nomination might not be among the government’s highest priorities after barely scraping back into power in unexpectedly close election.
“I respect the fact that the government has many other priorities at this time, having just been returned to office,” Rudd said on his Facebook page.
“This is a matter for the prime minister, the foreign minister and their colleagues at a time of their choosing.”

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Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton
There are more than a dozen high-profile candidates vying for the position, including former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Rudd was elected prime minister in 2007, but was dumped by his own centre-left Labor Party in 2010. He was dubbed Recycled Rudd when he regained the control of the chaotic and divided government weeks before it lost elections in 2013.
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The 58-year-old has been canvasing diplomatic support around the world for months, although Bishop on Monday became the first to confirm his plans to be a candidate.
But several lawmakers in Australia’s conservative government are openly hostile toward his bid.
“Kevin was never happy just running Australia — he believed he was always destined to run the world,” Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in April. “Kevin’s ego makes (presumptive Republican presidential nominee) Donald Trump’s look like a rounding error.”

Opposition leader Bill Shorten said only petty politics would prevent the government from nominating a former political opponent.
“If they’re going to be a government for all Australians, they’ll support the Australian on the international stage,” Shorten said.
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Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had advised the government that Rudd’s chances would be harmed if he did not gain the crucial nomination by the end of July, The Australian newspaper reported Monday.
For decades, the choice of the UN chief has been in the hands of the Security Council and its five permanent members - Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States - in a process largely kept behind closed doors.
Australia’s ex-PM Kevin Rudd ‘has been telling world leaders he wants to lead the United Nations’
But the General Assembly last year voted to shake up the process, asking candidates to send a formal application letter, present their resumes and appear at hearings.
Rudd is a Chinese-speaking former diplomat who served as Australia’s foreign minister between his stints as prime minister. He was a polarising figure within his government, with some former ministers swearing they would never work with his again because of his chaotic management style.


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Kevin Rudd

It’s official: former Australian leader Rudd wants nomination for UN top job

The Chinese-speaking Rudd, who is based in New York as head of the policy institute Asia Society, served as Labor prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013. Photo: Reuters

(160711) -- UNITED NATIONS, July 11, 2016 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the press on the on-going situation in South Sudan, at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, July 11, 2016. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned the killing of two Chinese peacekeepers in renewed fighting between South Sudan's rival army factions in capital Juba. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres (C) speaks during a debate in the United Nations General Assembly between candidates vying to be the next U.N. Secretary General at U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar

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Kevin Rudd, who is known for a fiery temper and keeping an almost super-human work ethic, is disliked in some political circles for his huge ego
