The United Nations Charter mentions the Secretary-General in Chapter XV, Articles 97 to 101
Secretaries General serve for five-year terms that can be renewed indefinitely, although none so far has held office for more than two terms
The Secretary General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.
Responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100, which states that they 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". They are 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 their 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 official residence of the Secretary-General is a townhouse in Sutton Place,Manhattan,New York City,USA (which was built for Anne Tracy Morgan (July 25, 1873 – January 29, 1952) an American Philanthropist who provided relief efforts in aid to France during and after WWI and WWIIin 1921, and donated to the United Nations in 1972)
The current Secretary-General is Ban ki-moon of South Korea, who took office on January 01,2007. His first term expired on December 31,2011and was re-elected, unopposed, to a second term on June 21,2011
List of Secretaries-General
Gladwyn Jebb of U.K - Oct 24,1945 to Feb 01,1946
After WWII,Gladwyn 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
1)Trygve Lie of Norway -Feb 02,1946 to Nov 10,1952Trygve 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
2)Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden - April 10,1953 to Sep 18,1961
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
3)U Thant of Burma - Nov 30,1961 to Dec 31,1971
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 onAlegerian 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 30 November, 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-year term, which would end on 31 December 1971
4)Kurt Waldheim of Austria - Jan 01,1972 to Dec 31,1981
Kurt 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 UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Kurt Waldheim as a suspected War Criminal – based on his involvement with the Army of Nazi Germany. The files had been stored in the UN archive
5)Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru - Jan 01,1982 to Dec 31,1991
Javier Perez de 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 became the first Secretary-General from the Americas.
He was re-elected unanimously in 1986
6)Boutros Boutros Ghali of Egypt - Jan 01,1992 to Dec 31,1996
The 102-member Non-Alignment Movement(NAM)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)Kofi Annan of Ghana - Jan 01,1997 to Dec 31,2006
On 13 December 1996, the Security Council recommended Annan.He was confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly.He started his second term as Secretary-General on 1 January 2002.
8)Ban ki-moon of South Korea - Jan 01,2007 to present
Ban ki-moon became the first East 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.Prior to his selection, he was the Foreign Minister of the REpublic of Korea from January 2004 to November 2006.
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