Secretary-General of the United Nations

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The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

The role of the secretary-general and of the secretariat is laid out by Chapter XV (Articles 97 to 101) of the United Nations Charter. However, the office's qualifications, selection process and tenure are open to interpretation; they have been established by custom.[1]

Selection and term of office

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File:UNO New York.JPG
The Secretariat Building is a Template:Convert skyscraper and the centerpiece of the Headquarters of the United Nations.

The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. As the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the council can veto a nomination. Most secretaries-general are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame.

Unofficial qualifications for the job have been set by precedent in previous selections. The appointee may not be a citizen of any of the Security Council's five permanent members.[2] The General Assembly resolution 51/241 in 1997 stated that, in the appointment of "the best candidate", due regard should be given to regional (continental) rotation of the appointee's national origin and to gender equality,[3]Template:Rp although no woman has yet served as secretary-general. All appointees to date have been career diplomats.[4]

The length of the term is discretionary, but all secretaries-general since 1971 have been appointed to five-year terms. Every secretary-general since 1961 has been re-selected for a second term, with the exception of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was vetoed by the United States in the 1996 selection. While the position does not have a formal term limit,[5] incumbent secretary-generals have avoided seeking a third term since the 1981 selection, when China cast a record 16 vetoes against a third term for Kurt Waldheim.

The selection process is opaque and is often compared to a papal conclave.[6][7] Since 1981, the Security Council has voted in secret in a series of straw polls; it then submits the winning candidate to the General Assembly for ratification. No candidate has ever been rejected by the General Assembly, and only once, in 1950, has a candidate been voted upon despite a UNSC veto.[8]

In 2016, the General Assembly and the Security Council sought nominations and conducted public debates for the first time. However, the Security Council voted in private and followed the same process as previous selections, leading the president of the General Assembly to complain that it "does not live up to the expectations of the membership and the new standard of openness and transparency".[9]

Powers and duties

The UN Charter designates the secretary-general as the "chief administrative officer" of the UN, and gives the secretary-general the power to make employment decisions about Secretariat staff. The Charter also empowers the secretary-general to inform the Security Council of "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", and allows the secretary-general to perform "such other functions as are entrusted" by other United Nations organs. These provisions have been interpreted as providing broad leeway for officeholders to serve a variety of roles as suited to their preferences, skill set, or circumstances.[4] The UN describes the role of the secretary-general as combining the functions and responsibilities of an advocate, diplomat, civil servant, and chief executive officer.[10]

The secretary-general's routine duties include overseeing the activities and duties of the secretariat; attending sessions with United Nations bodies; consulting with world leaders, government officials, and other stakeholders; and travelling the world to engage with global constituents and bring attention to certain international issues.[10] The secretary-general publishes an annual report on the work of the UN, which includes an assessment of its activities and an outline future priorities. The secretary-general is also the chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), a body composed of the heads of all UN funds, programmes, and specialised agencies, which meets twice a year to discuss substantive and management issues facing the United Nations System.[10]

Many of the secretary-general's powers are informal and left open to individual interpretation; some appointees have opted for more activist roles, while others have been more technocratic or administrative.[4] The secretary-general is often reliant upon the use of their "good offices", described as "steps taken publicly and in private, drawing upon his independence, impartiality and integrity, to prevent international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading".[10] Consequently, observers have variably described the office as the "world's most visible bully pulpit" or as the "world's moderator".[11][4] Examples include Dag Hammarskjöld's promotion of an armistice between the warring parties of Arab-Israel conflict, Javier Perez de Cuellar's negotiation of a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War, and U Thant's role in deescalating the Cuban Missile Crisis.[4]

Residence

The official residence of the secretary-general is a townhouse at 3 Sutton Place, Manhattan, in New York City, United States. The townhouse was built for Anne Morgan in 1921 and donated to the United Nations in 1972.[12]

List of secretaries-general

No. Portrait Name
(born–died)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Term of office Country UN Regional Group Notes
Took office Left office Time in office
Acting File:Sr. Gladwyn Jebb.jpg Template:Sortname
(1900–1996)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[13] 		24 October 1945 2 February 1946 Template:Ayd Template:Country data United Kingdom Western European and Others After World War II, Jebb served as executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations in August 1945, being appointed Acting United Nations secretary-general from October 1945 to February 1946 until the appointment of the first secretary-general, Trygve Lie.[14]
1 File:Trygve Lie.png Template:Sortname
(1896–1968)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[15] 		2 February 1946 10 November 1952 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Norway Western European and Others Lie, a foreign minister and former labour leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post. After the UN involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Lie's reappointment in 1951. The United States circumvented the Soviet Union's veto and recommended reappointment directly to the General Assembly. Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to 5, with eight abstentions. The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie, and he resigned in 1952.[16]
2 File:Dag Hammarskjöld.jpg Template:Sortname
(1905–1961)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[17] 		10 April 1953 18 September 1961 † Template:Ayd Template:Country data Sweden Western European and Others After a series of candidates were vetoed, Hammarskjöld emerged as an option that was acceptable to the Security Council. He was re-elected unanimously to a second term in 1957. The Soviet Union was angered by Hammarskjöld's leadership of the UN during the Congo Crisis, and suggested that the position of secretary-general be replaced by a troika, or three-man executive. Facing great opposition from the Western nations, the Soviet Union gave up on its suggestion. Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961.[16] U.S. president John F. Kennedy called him "the greatest statesman of our century".[18] Hammarskjöld was posthumously awarded the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize.
Acting File:U Thant (1963).jpg Template:Sortname
(1909–1974)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[19] 		3 November 1961 30 November 1962 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Burma Asia-Pacific

Formerly a member of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League until 1958Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

In the process of replacing Hammarskjöld, the developing world insisted on a non-European and non-American secretary-general. U Thant was nominated. However, due to opposition from the French (Thant had chaired a committee on Algerian independence) and the Arabs (Burma supported Israel), Thant was only appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. He was the first Asian secretary-general. The following year, on 30 November, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a full term ending on 3 November 1966. At the General Assembly session on 2 December 1966, Thant was reappointed as secretary-general by a unanimous vote of the Security Council. His five-year term ended on 31 December 1971. Thant did not seek a third election.[16] Thant is the only former secretary-general whose home country had not been in the Security Council in his term.
3 30 November 1962 31 December 1971 Template:Ayd
4 File:Kurt Waldheim UN.jpg Template:Sortname
(1918–2007)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[20] 		1 January 1972 31 December 1981 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Austria Western European and Others Waldheim launched a discreet but effective campaign to become the secretary-general. Despite initial vetoes from China and the United Kingdom, in the third round, Waldheim was selected to become the new secretary-general. In 1976, China initially blocked Waldheim's re-election, but it relented on the second ballot. In 1981, Waldheim's re-election for a third term was blocked by China, which vetoed his selection through 15 rounds; although the official reasons by the Chinese government for the veto of Waldheim remain unclear, some estimates from the time believe it to be in part due to China's belief that a Third World country should give a nomination, particularly from the Americas;[21] however, there also remained the question of his possible involvement in Nazi war crimes.[22] From 1986 to 1992, Waldheim served as president of Austria, making him the first former secretary-general to rise to the position of head of state. In 1985, it was revealed that a post-World War II UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim as a suspected war criminal based on his involvement with the Script error: No such module "Lang".. The files had been stored in the UN archive.[16]
5 File:Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (1982).jpg Template:Sortname
(1920–2020)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[23] 		1 January 1982 31 December 1991 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Peru Latin American and Caribbean Pérez de Cuéllar was selected after a five-week deadlock between the re-election of Waldheim and China's candidate, Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania. Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian diplomat who a decade earlier had served as President of the UN Security Council during his time as Peruvian ambassador to the UN, was a compromise candidate. He became the first and thus far only secretary-general from the Americas. He was re-elected unanimously in 1986.[16]
6 File:Boutros Boutros Ghali (1993).jpg Template:Sortname
(1922–2016)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[24] 		1 January 1992 31 December 1996 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Egypt African The 102-member Non-Aligned Movement insisted that the next secretary-general come from Africa. With a majority in the General Assembly and the support of China, the "Non-Aligned Movement had the votes necessary to block any unfavorable candidate". The Security Council conducted five anonymous straw polls—a first for the council—and Boutros-Ghali emerged with 11 votes on the fifth round. In 1996, the United States vetoed the re-appointment of Boutros-Ghali, claiming he had failed in implementing necessary reforms to the UN.[16]
7 File:Kofi Annan, 2002 (cropped).jpg Template:Sortname
(1938–2018)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[25] 		1 January 1997 31 December 2006 Template:Ayd Template:Country data Ghana African On 13 December 1996, the Security Council recommended Annan.[26][27] He was confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly.[28] He started his second term as secretary-general on 1 January 2002. Kofi Annan and the United Nations were the recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
8 File:Ban Ki-moon February 2016.jpg Ban Ki-moon
(b. 1944)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[29] 		1 January 2007 31 December 2016 Template:Ayd Template:Country data South Korea Asia-Pacific Ban became the first East Asian to be selected as the secretary-general and the second Asian overall after U Thant.[30] He was unanimously elected to a second term by the General Assembly on 21 June 2011. His second term began on 1 January 2012.[31] Prior to his selection, he was the Foreign Minister of South Korea from January 2004 to November 2006.[30]
9 File:António Guterres, 23.03.23.jpg Template:Sortname
(b. 1949)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[32] 		1 January 2017 Incumbent Template:Ayd Template:Country data PortugalTemplate:Country data Timor-Leste Western European and Others and Asia-Pacific Guterres is the first former head of government to become secretary-general, and the first secretary-general born after the establishment of the United Nations. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He has also been president of the Socialist International (1999–2005) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2005–2015). His second term began on 1 January 2022. Since August 2024, Guterres also holds East-Timorese citizenship.[33][34][35]
File:UNSG map 2025.png
Map showing which nations have had a national serving as secretary-general of the United Nations

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Statistics

# Country of Origin Secretary-General Born Age at ascension
(first term) 		Time in office
(total) 		Age at retirement
(last term) 		Lifespan
Died Age
– Template:Country data United Kingdom Jebb, Gladwy Gladwyn Jebb Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
1 Template:Country data Norway Lie, TrygveTrygve Lie Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
2 Template:Country data Sweden Hammarskjöld, DagDag Hammarskjöld Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
3 Template:Country data Burma Thant, U U Thant Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
4 Template:Country data Austria Waldheim, Kurt Kurt Waldheim Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
5 Template:Country data Peru Pérez de Cuéllar, Javier Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
6 Template:Country data Egypt Boutros-Ghali, Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
7 Template:Country data Ghana Annan, Kofi Kofi Annan Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Dts Template:Ayd
8 Template:Country data South Korea Ban, Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		2025-12-18(living) Template:Ayd
9 Template:Country data Portugal

Template:Country data Timor-Leste

Guterres, AntónioAntónio Guterres Template:Dts Template:Ayd
Template:Dts 		Template:Ayd (incumbent) 2025-12-18(living) Template:Ayd

By regional group

UN Regional Group Secretaries-General Terms
WEOG 4 7
Eastern European Group 0 0
GRULAC 1 2
Asia-Pacific Group 3 6
African Group 2 3

See also

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References

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Further reading

External links

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  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Barrett, George (13 October 1950). "Position of U.N. Chief Aide is Thrust Into Uncertainty". The New York Times. p. 1.
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Linnér, S. (2007). Dag Hammarskjöld and the Congo crisis, 1960–61. Template:Webarchive. Page 28. Uppsala University. (22 July 2008).
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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