Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

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An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General for a repeatable term of four years.

1 Appointment and accountability
2 Equivalent rank
3 Diplomatic Rank
4 Senior Management Group (SMG)
5 List of Under-Secretaries-General
6 Other Senior UN Positions
- 6.1 Deputy Secretary-General
- 6.2 Assistant-Secretary-General
7 External links

[edit] Appointment and accountability

The majority of USGs are appointed by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General for a fixed term of four years. Others (normally special envoys, Secretariat-appointees and non-programme management positions) are appointed directly by the UN Secretary-General on his own authority. However, all USGs report to the UN General Assembly through the UN Secretary-General. The only exception to this is the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services who reports directly to the General Assembly.

The distinction in method of appointment is important as USGs appointed by the General Assembly have a mandate independent of the Secretary-General, and he is therefore unable to remove them from office without the General Assembly's consent. This restriction has been seen by many commentators to weaken the Secretary-General's ability to provide strong leadership and management within the United Nations System.

[edit] Equivalent rank

Some senior posts within the UN System have the equivalent rank of Under-Secretary-General but are either not entitled or choose not to use the formal title. The most prominent example of this is the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, who is often referred to as the third most senior official within the UN System yet does not use the title of Under-Secretary-General.

[edit] Diplomatic Rank

USGs have diplomatic rank equivalent to that of a national Cabinet Minister. By virtue of Article 105 of the UN Charter they have diplomatic immunity.

[edit] Senior Management Group (SMG)

With over 50 people with the rank of Under-Secretary-General, unsurprisingly the influence and power they wield within the UN System varies dramatically. The most important USGs, controlling budgets, programmes or key activities, are also members of the Secretary-General's Senior Management Group, whose objective is to ensure strategic coherence and direction in the work of the Organization. The cabinet was approved by the General Assembly in 1997 as part of the reform proposal submitted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Members of the SMG are indicated on the below list by an asterisk (*).

[edit] List of Under-Secretaries-General

The following is a list of Under-Secretaries-General or those with equivalent rank. This list is not exhaustive.

[edit] Programmes and Commissions

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid * - Executive Director, UNFPA
Antonio Costa * - Director-General, United Nations Office Vienna and Chief Executive, UN International Drug Control Programme
Louise Arbour * - High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
Anna Tibaijuka * - Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme
Marek Belka * - Economic Commission for Europe
Ann Veneman * - UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Mervat M Tallawy * - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Supachai Panitchpakdi * - UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Achim Steiner * - UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Abdoulie Janneh * - Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa
Jose Luis Machinea * - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
James T. Morris * - World Food Programme
Antonio Manuel de Oliverira Guterres * - High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Kim Hak-Su * - Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific
Kemal Dervis * - Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Ad Melkert - Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Peter Piot - Executive Director, UNAIDS

[edit] Secretariat Officials

Nobuaki Tanaka * - Disarmament Affairs
Jean-Marie Guéhenno * - Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Jan Egeland * - Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator
Shashi Tharoor * - Communication and Public Information
Chen Jian * - General Assembly Affairs
Christopher Burnham * - Management
José Antonio Ocampo * - Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Nicolas Michel * - Legal Affairs
David Veness * - Safety and Security
Sergei Ordzhonikidze * - United Nations Office Geneva
Inga-Britt Ahlenius * - Internal OVersigh Services
Ibrahim Gambari * - Political Affairs
Mohsen Bel Hadj Amor - Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission
Eugeniusz Wyzner - Vice-Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission

[edit] Advisers

Vijay Nambia * - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
Nitin Desai - World Summit on the Information Society
Legwaila Joseph Legwaila - Special Adviser on Africa
Joseph V. Reed - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
Iqbal Riza - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
Jeffrey Sachs - Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals and Director of the United Nations Millennium Project

[edit] Special Envoys

Anwarul Chowdhury * - Special Envoy for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked and Small Island Developing States
Radhika Coomaraswamy * - Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict
Bill Clinton - Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery
Eric Paul Schwartz - Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery
Nafis I. Sadik - Special Envoy for AIDS in Asia

[edit] Other Senior UN Positions

[edit] Deputy Secretary-General

The Deputy Secretary-General is the second highest ranking official in the UN System after the Secretary-General. Mark Malloch Brown is the current office holder.

[edit] Assistant-Secretary-General

An Assistant-Secretary-General sits beneath an Under-Secretary-General within the UN hierarchy. Assistant-Secretaries-General are often deputies within Departments or Programmes, reporting to their respective Under-Secretary-General and through him/her to the UN Secretary General.