UN/Secretary-General

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Employment.png UN/Secretary-General   WebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
UN Gaddafi.jpg
Type World Moderator
UN Secretary-General's roles are defined as "diplomat, advocate, civil servant and CEO"

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG), is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The UNSG also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations. The current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea took office on 1 January 2007 and his first term expired on 31 December 2011. He was re-elected, unopposed, to a second five-year term which began on 1 January 2012.[1]

In advance of 2016, when the post is expected to become vacant, some potential candidates are campaigning to be the next UNSG. Every UN member state has a vested interest in how active or subdued a role the new office holder will play. Any of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, called the P5 (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States), can veto a council choice, and the UN General Assembly majority must approve anyone the council chooses.

The UN Secretary-General has limited bargaining power, no standing military force or intelligence service, and he cannot set or enforce UN policy. Yet the eight men who have held the job so far have worked hard to mould it into an impressive post of moral leadership and often-effective mediation.[2]

Role

The UN Secretary-General was envisioned by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "World Moderator", but the vague definition provided by the UN Charter left much room for interpretation by those who would later inhabit the position. According to the UN website, his roles are further defined as "diplomat, advocate, civil servant and CEO".[3] Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out and playing important roles on global issues to various degrees. Article 97 under United Nations Charter, Chapter XV states that the Secretary-General shall be the "chief administrative officer" of the Organisation, but does not dictate his specific obligations.

Responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100, which states that he shall act as the officer "in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, and shall perform other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs". He is responsible, according to Article 99, for making an annual report to the General Assembly as well as notifying the Security Council on matters which "in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". Other than these few guidelines, little else is dictated by the Charter. Interpretation of the Charter has varied between Secretaries-General, with some being much more active than others.

The UNSG is highly dependent upon the support of the member states of the UN. "The Secretary-General would fail if he did not take careful account of the concerns of Member States, but he must also uphold the values and moral authority of the United Nations, and speak and act for peace, even at the risk, from time to time, of challenging or disagreeing with those same Member States."

"The personal skills of the Secretary-General and his staff are crucial to their function. The central position of the UN headquarters in the international diplomatic network is also an important asset. The Secretary-General has the right to place any dispute on the provisional agenda of the Security Council. However, he works mostly behind the scenes if the members of the council are unwilling to discuss a dispute. Most of his time is spent on good offices missions and mediation, sometimes at the request of deliberative organs of the UN, but also frequently on his own initiative. His function may be frustrated, replaced or supplemented by mediation efforts by the major powers. UN peacekeeping missions are often closely linked to mediation (peacemaking). The recent improvement in relations between the permanent members of the Security Council has strengthened the role of the Secretary-General as the world's most reputable intermediary."

Residence

The official residence of the UN Secretary-General is a five-story townhouse in Sutton Place, Manhattan, in New York City, United States. The townhouse was built for the philanthropist Anne Morgan in 1921, and donated to the United Nations in 1972.[4]

Term and selection

Secretaries-General serve for five-year terms that can be renewed indefinitely, although none so far has held office for more than two terms.[5] The United Nations Charter provides for the UN Secretary-General to be appointed by the United Nations General Assembly upon the recommendation of the UN Security Council. As a result, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent Members of the Security Council. While the appointment and approval process of the Secretary-General is outlined in the UN Charter, specific guidelines have emerged regarding the term limits and selection process. These include a limit to two five-year terms, regional (continental) rotation of the appointee’s national origin, and the appointee may not be a citizen of any of the Security Council’s five permanent members.

The United Nations Charter mentions the Secretary-General in Chapter XV, Articles 97 to 101. Article 97 gives the General Assembly the task of appointing the Secretary-General. However, the candidate must be proposed by the Security Council. This implies that any Permanent Member of the Security Council could wield its veto in opposition of the recommendation. Most Secretaries-General are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame. Despite the Charter giving the General Assembly provisions to influence the selection process, the chosen Secretaries-General reflect that the selection process remains in the control of the P5.

The Secretary-General is also the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. Article 98 further states that the Secretary-General is further tasked with supervising the operations of the Security Council, General Assembly (GA), and the Economic and Social Council and is to "perform other such functions as are entrusted to him by these organisations". In short, this gives him or her the further responsibility of presiding over the meetings of these organs of the UN. Also contained in Article 98 is the responsibility of the Secretary-General to compile annual reports concerning the UN’s progress, to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.

The Secretary-General has the power to alert the General Assembly and the Security Council of any event he or she sees as a security issue for the international system (according to Article 99). The Secretary-General, along with the Secretariat, is given the prerogative to exhibit no allegiance to any state but to only the United Nations organisation: decisions must be made without regard to the state of origin.

In the early 1960s, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev led an effort to abolish the Secretary-General position. The numerical superiority of the Western powers combined with the one state, one vote system meant that the Secretary-General would come from one of them, and would potentially be sympathetic towards the West. Khrushchev proposed to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading council (a "Troika"): one member from the West, one from the Eastern Bloc, and one from the Non-Aligned powers. This idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal.[6][7]

List of Secretaries-General

№ Portrait Secretary-General Dates in office Country of origin UN Regional Group Reason of withdrawal Ref.
–
 image:Sr. Gladwyn Jebb.jpg|80px Gladwyn Jebb 24 October 1945 –
1 February 1946		  United Kingdom Western European & Others [8]
After World War II, he 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.
1
 rowspan="2" Trygve Lie 2 February 1946 –
10 November 1952		 Template:Country data Norway Western European & Others Resigned [9]
Trygve 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.[10]
2
 Dag Hammarskjöld 10 April 1953 –
18 September 1961		 Template:Country data Sweden Western European & Others Died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), while on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo. [11]
After a series of candidates were vetoed, Hammarskjöld emerged as an option that was acceptable to the Security Council. Hammarskjöld 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 was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961.[10] U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman of our century".[12]
3
 rowspan="2" U Thant 30 November 1961 –
31 December 1971		 Template:Country data Burma Asian Declined to stand for a third election. [13]
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. Thant was the first Asian Secretary-General. The following year, on November 30, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a new term ending on 3 November 1966. He was re-elected on 2 December 1966, finally for a full 5 years term, until 31 December 1971. Thant did not seek a third election.[10]
4
 rowspan="2" Kurt Waldheim 1 January 1972 –
31 December 1981		 Template:Country data Austria Western European & Others China vetoed his third term. [14]
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. In the mid-1980s, it was revealed that a post-World War II United Nations War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim as a suspected war criminal – based on his involvement with the German Army (1935–1945). The files had been stored in the UN archive.[10]
5
 rowspan="2" Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 1 January 1982 –
31 December 1991		 Template:Country data Peru Latin American & Caribbean Did not stand for a third term. [15]
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, was a compromise candidate, and the first Secretary-General from the Americas. He was re-elected unanimously in 1986.
6
 rowspan="2" Boutros Boutros-Ghali 1 January 1992 –
31 December 1996		 Template:Country data Egypt African The United States vetoed his second term. [16]
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 unfavourable 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.
7
 rowspan="2" Kofi Annan 1 January 1997 –
31 December 2006		 Template:Country data Ghana African Retired after two full terms [17]
On 13 December 1996, the United Nations Security Council recommended Annan.[18][19] He was confirmed four days later by the vote of the UN General Assembly,[20] He started his second term as Secretary-General on 1 January 2002.
8
 rowspan="2" Ban Ki-moon 1 January 2007–
present		 Template:Country data South Korea Asia-Pacific Incumbent [21]
Ban became the second Asian to be selected as the Secretary-General. He was unanimously elected to a second term by the General Assembly on 21 June 2011. His second term began on 1 January 2012.[22] Prior to his selection, he was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea from January 2004 to November 2006.
UN Regional Group] Secretaries-General Terms
Western European and Others 4 7
Eastern European Group 0 0
Latin American and Caribbean Group 1 2
Asia-Pacific Group 2 4
African Group 2 3

Living former Secretaries-General

Name Term of office Date of birth Country of origin
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 1982–1991 (1920-01-19) 19 January 1920 (age 104) Template:Country data Peru
Boutros Boutros-Ghali 1992–1996 (1922-11-14) 14 November 1922 (age 102) Template:Country data Egypt
Kofi Annan 1997–2006 (1938-04-08) 8 April 1938 (age 86) Template:Country data Ghana

 

Office Holders on Wikispooks

NameFromToDescription
António Guterres1 January 2017
Ban Ki-moon1 January 200731 December 2016
Kofi Annan1 January 199731 December 2006
Boutros Boutros-Ghali1 January 199231 December 1996Ousted after US veto on second term
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar1 January 198231 December 1991
Kurt Waldheim1 January 197231 December 1981
U Thant30 November 196131 December 1971
Dag Hammarskjöld10 April 195318 September 1961
Trygve Lie2 February 194610 November 1952
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References

  1. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  2. ↑ "What Matters Most in Choosing the Next UN Chief? Politics, Geography and Maybe Gender"
  3. ↑ "Role of the Secretary-General", The United Nations, Accessed 2 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Teltsch, Kathleen. "Town House Offered to UN", New York Times, 15 July 1972. Accessed 27 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "Secretary-General Appointment Process". United Nations.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  6. ↑ "Nikita Khrushchev: Address to the UN General Assembly, Sept. 23 1960". Fordham University.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  7. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  8. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  9. ↑ The United Nations: Trygve Haldvan Lie (Norway). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  10. ↑ a b c d {{cite web | url=http://www.unausa.org/atf/cf/%7B49C555AC-20C8-4B43-8483-A2D4C1808E4E%7D/SG%20Reform%20Fact%20Sheet-fina-logol.pdf |title=An Historical Overview on the Selection of United Nations Secretaries-General | publisher=UNA-USA | accessdate=30 September 2007 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071025014319/http://www.unausa.org/atf/cf/%7b49C555AC-20C8-4B43-8483-A2D4C1808E4E%7d/SG+Reform+Fact+Sheet-fina-logol.pdf
  11. ↑ The United Nations: Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  12. ↑ Linnér, S. (2007). Dag Hammarskjöld and the Congo crisis, 1960–61. Page 28. Uppsala University. (22 July 2008).
  13. ↑ United Nations: U Thant (Myanmar). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  14. ↑ The United Nations: Kurt Waldheim (Austria). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  15. ↑ The United Nations: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peru). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  16. ↑ The United Nations: Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt). Accessed 13 December 2006.
  17. ↑ The United Nations: The Biography of Kofi A. Annan. Accessed 13 December 2006.
  18. ↑ United Nations. "Kofi Annan of Ghana recommended by Security Council for appointment as Secretary-General of United Nations". Press release. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961213.bio3051.html. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 
  19. ↑ Traub, James (2006). The Best Intentions. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0-374-18220-5.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  20. ↑ United Nations. "General Assembly appoints Kofi Annan of Ghana as seventh Secretary-General". Press release. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961217.ga9208.html. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 
  21. ↑ "Ban Ki-moon is sworn in as next Secretary-General of the United Nations". United Nations.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  22. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}

External links

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