RIGA (AFP) -- Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga has been nominated by the leaders of the three Baltic states to run for the post of United Nations secretary general, the president's spokeswoman has said.

"The Latvian president has been nominated as a candidate for the post of UN secretary general" by the presidents and prime ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, presidential spokeswoman Aiva Rozenberga told AFP.

Vike-Freiberga will herself officially announce her candidacy later Saturday, before leaving for the UN General Assembly in New York, Rozenberga said.

The mandate of current UN chief Kofi Annan is due to expire at the end of this year.

Vike-Freiberga was named last year by Annan as one of five envoys on a panel tasked with promoting plans for sweeping reforms of the United Nations.

The UN secretary general is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. It is widely considered the most influential role in the United Nations.