Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic-Buric (60) said on Thursday that she had made a personal decision not to rerun for this position upon the expiry of her term this year.

It has been an honour to lead the Council of Europe through these particularly challenging times, she said in a letter to Hina eight months before the expiry of her five-year term.

Three candidates — the current European Union Justice Commissioner, Belgian Didier Reynders, a former Swiss president, Alain Berset, and a former Estonian culture minister, Indrek Saar — have applied for the post of new Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the CoE stated on Thursday.

The current Secretary-General, Pejcinovic-Buric, a former Croatian foreign minister, will not rerun for the post.

The Secretary General has the overall responsibility for the strategic management of the organisation.

Member-states were supposed to propose their candidates for CoE Secretary-General until 10 January. Candidates are usually former ministers of foreign affairs or former prime ministers.

The Strasbourg-based organisation, whose main mission is “to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law across Europe and beyond”, has 46 member-states.

Pejcinovic-Buric’s term has been marked by the crisis with Russia, which was expelled from the organisation in March 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.

Pejcinovic-Buric has said in her letter that she is proud of the achievements during her term, including support to Ukraine and its people.