Last Updated: 4 March 2023
The Secretary General of the United Nations is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat.
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. The office’s qualifications, selection process, and tenure are open to interpretation, they have been established by custom.
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN, and its work is guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
The Principal Organs of the United Nations are:
- General Assembly
- Security Council
- Economic and Social Council
- Secretariat
- International Court of Justice
- Trusteeship Council
The Executive heads of some of the United Nations System organizations & the World Trade Organization have seats on the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). This body, chaired by the Secretary General of the United Nations, meets twice a year to coordinate the work of the organizations of the United Nations System.
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Secretary General At A Glance
| No. | Header | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Style | His Excellency |
| 2 | Abbreviation | UNSG |
| 3 | Member Of | Secretariat General Assembly |
| 4 | Residence | Sutton Place, New York City |
| 5 | Seat | United Nations Headquarters, New York City, United States |
| 6 | Nominator | Security Council |
| 7 | Appointer | General Assembly |
| 8 | Term Length | Five Years |
| 9 | Constituting instrument | United Nations Charter |
| 10 | Precursor | Secretary General of the League of Nations |
| 11 | Formation | 24 October 1945 |
| 12 | First holder | 1) Gladwyn Jebb (Acting) 2) Trygve Lie (First SG) |
| 13 | Deputy Secretary General | Amina J. Mohammed (Since 1st Jan 2017) |
| 14 | Website | www.un.org |
Current Secretary General Of The UN
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres is the current Secretary General Of The United Nations. He was born on 30th April 1949 in Portugal, he is a Portuguese Politician and a Diplomat.
- Guterres’s political career began in 1974 when he became a member of the Socialist Party.
- He was a founding member of the Portuguese Refugee Council in 1991.
- António Guterres served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 28 Oct 1995 – 6 Apr 2002.
- He was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015.
- In 2015, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa appointed Guterres to serve as a Member of the Council of State of Portugal.
Facts About Secretary General Of The UN
- 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 traveling the world to engage with global constituents and bring attention to certain international issues.
- The Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
- The role of the Secretary General is described as combining the functions and responsibilities of an Advocate, Diplomat, Civil Servant, and Chief Executive Officer.
- The UN Charter designates the Secretary General as the “Chief Administrative Officer” of the United Nations and allows them to perform “such other functions as are entrusted” by other United Nations organs.
- 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 Specialized Agencies, which meets twice a year to discuss Substantive and Management issues facing the United Nations System.
- No woman has yet served as Secretary General of the United Nations.
- No candidate has ever been rejected by the General Assembly.
- 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.
- The selection process is opaque and is often compared to a papal conclave.
- 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.
List Of Secretaries General Of UN
| No. | Secretary General | Tenure | Term Out | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~ | Sir Gladwyn Jebb [United Kingdom] (Acting) | 24 Oct 1945 | 02 Feb 1946 | Liberal |
| 1 | Trygve Halvdan Lie [Norway] | 02 Feb 1946 | 10 Nov 1952 | Labour |
| 2 | Dag Hammarskjöld [Sweden] | 10 Apr 1953 | 18 Sep 1961 | Independent |
| ~ | U Thant [Burma] (Acting) | 03 Nov 1961 | 30 Nov 1962 | Independent |
| 3 | U Thant [Burma] | 30 Nov 1962 | 31 Dec 1971 | Independent |
| 4 | Kurt Waldheim [Austria] | 01 Jan 1972 | 31 Dec 1981 | People’s |
| 5 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar [Peru] | 01 Jan 1982 | 31 Dec 1991 | Independent |
| 6 | Boutros Boutros-Ghali [Egypt] | 01 Jan 1992 | 31 Dec 1996 | National Democratic |
| 7 | Kofi Annan [Ghana] | 01 Jan 1997 | 31 Dec 2006 | Independent |
| 8 | Ban Ki-moon [South Korea] | 01 Jan 2007 | 31 Dec 2016 | Independent |
| 9 | António Guterres [Portugal] | 01 Jan 2017 | Incumbent | Socialist |
Nations Which Have Had A Secretary General
Interesting Stats Of Secretary General
| No. | Secretary General | Age At Ascension | Time In Office | Age At Retirement | Died | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~ | Gladwyn Jebb (Acting) [born. 25 Apr 1900] | 45 Years 182 Days (24 Oct 1945) | 102 Days | 45 Years 283 Days (2 Feb 1946) | 24 Oct 1996 | 96 Years 182 Days |
| 1 | Trygve Lie [born. 16 Jul 1896] | 49 Years 201 Days (2 Feb 1946) | 6 Years 283 Days | 56 Years 117 Days (10 Nov 1952) | 30 Dec 1968 | 72 Years 167 Days |
| 2 | Dag Hammarskjöld [born. 29 Jul 1905] | 47 Years 255 Days (10 Apr 1953) | 8 Years 162 Days | 56 Years 51 Days (18 Sep 1961) | 18 Sep 1961 | 56 Years 51 Days |
| 3 | U Thant [born. 22 Jan 1909] | 52 Years 285 Days (3 Nov 1961) | 10 Years 59 Days | 62 Years 343 Days (31 Dec 1971) | 25 Nov 1974 | 65 Years 307 Days |
| 4 | Kurt Waldheim [born. 21 Dec 1918] | 53 Years 11 Days (1 Jan 1972) | 10 Years 0 Days | 63 Years 10 Days (31 Dec 1981) | 14 Jun 2007 | 88 Years 175 Days |
| 5 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar [born. 19 Jan 1920] | 61 Years 347 Days (1 Jan 1982) | 10 Years 0 Days | 71 Years 346 Days (31 Dec 1991) | 04 Mar 2020 | 100 Years 45 Days |
| 6 | Boutros Boutros-Ghali [born. 14 Nov 1922] | 69 Years 48 Days (1 Jan 1992) | 5 Years 0 Days | 74 Years 47 Days (31 Dec 1996) | 16 Feb 2016 | 93 Years 94 Days |
| 7 | Kofi Annan [born. 08 Apr 1938] | 58 Years 268 Days (1 Jan 1997) | 10 Years 0 Days | 68 Years 267 Days (31 Dec 2006) | 18 Aug 2018 | 80 Years 132 Days |
| 8 | Ban Ki-moon [born. 13 Jun 1944] | 62 Years 202 Days (1 Jan 2007) | 10 Years 0 Days | 72 Years 201 Days (31 Dec 2016) | (living) | 78 Years 254 Days+ |
| 9 | António Guterres [born. 30 Apr 1949] | 67 Years 246 Days (1 Jan 2017) | 6 Years 52 Days+ | (Incumbent) | (living) | 73 Years 298 Days+ |
Birthplaces Of Secretaries General Of The United Nations
General Secretaries By Regional Group
| No. | UN Regional Group | Secretary General |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western European & Others Group | 1) Gladwyn Jebb (Acting) 2) Trygve Lie 3) Dag Hammarskjöld 4) António Guterres |
| 2 | Asia & Pacific | 1) U Thant 2) Kurt Waldheim 3) Ban Ki-moon |
| 3 | Latin American & Caribbean | 1) Javier Pérez de Cuéllar |
| 4 | African | 1) Boutros Boutros-Ghali 2) Kofi Annan |
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