President Vaira Vike-Freiberga called for more openness in the selection process

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga has led Latvia since 1999. She has been working for over a year as Kofi Annan's special envoy for United Nations reforms.

The popular Baltic leader is a strong supporter of the US policy in Iraq and is believed to enjoy the support of the White House and certain EU countries.

However, few diplomats believe the 68-year-old will succeed Mr Annan as it is thought that the next secretary-general will most likely come from Asia. This is part of a tradition to rotate the job between regions.

After declaring her candidacy, she called on the world to take seriously a woman candidate. "Half of humankind has never been represented at the helm of the UN," she said in her speech launching her candidacy.

She also argued for more openness in the process of selecting a successor.

"I think that too many women in too many ways have allowed themselves to be discouraged by the knowledge that there are all-boys clubs operating, that the boys get together, that they make deals," she said at a press conference in New York in September.

The former psychology professor has had a meteoric rise in politics.

Ms Vike-Freiberga was raised in Canada, where she enjoyed a distinguished academic career. She specialises in the relationship between thought and language.

In 1998, she received an invitation to head the new Latvian Institute, established to raise the profile of Latvia and the Latvians around the world.

Shortly afterwards, she returned to Latvia and was elected president within a year. At the time, Latvia was facing many problems in its efforts to build a Western-style democracy and market economy.

She is now on her second, four-year term as head of state.