The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.
The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who took office on January 1, 2007. His first term will expire on December 31, 2011 and he will be eligible for reappointment.
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Role
The Secretary-General was envisioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator," but the office was defined in the UN Charter as the organization's "chief administrative officer" (Article 97). Nevertheless, this more restricted description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out and playing important roles on global issues, to various degrees.
The official residence of the Secretary-General is a five-story townhouse in the Sutton Place neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The townhouse was built for Anne Morgan in 1921, and donated to the United Nations in 1972.[1]
Term and selection
Secretaries-General serve for five-year terms that can be renewed only once more (i.e. a maximum of 2 five-year terms); most have served two terms. The Charter provides for the Secretary-General to be appointed by the General Assembly upon the nomination of the Security Council. Therefore, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The U.N. Charter's terse language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and also accepted practices. In practice, the Secretary-General cannot be a national of any of the Permanent Members of the Security Council. An accepted practice of regional (continental) rotation has also been adopted in the selection of successive candidates. The ability of candidates to converse in both English and French is also considered an unofficial qualification for the office.
Most Secretaries-General are compromise-candidates from middle powers and with little prior fame. High-profile candidates are often touted for the job, but are almost always rejected as unpalatable to some. For instance, figures like Charles de Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, and Sir Anthony Eden were considered for the first Secretary-General position, but were rejected in favor of the uncontroversial Norwegian Trygve Lie. Due to international politics and the mechanicisms of political compromise, there are many similarities between the process and ideals for selecting the Secretary-General and those of selecting leading figures in other international organizations, such as the the election of Popes in the Roman Catholic Church, or the Premier of the former Soviet Union.
Only one Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, has died in office.
In the early 1960s, Soviet ruler 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 typically be sympathetic towards the West. Khrushchev advanced a proposal to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading council (a "troika"): one member from the West, one from the Communist states, and one from the Non-Aligned powers. This idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal.
Secretaries-General
Note: Alger Hiss was Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, held in April to June 1945.
| # | Secretary-General | Dates in office | Country of origin | Reason of withdrawal | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gladwyn Jebb | 24 October 1945 – 1 February 1946 |
 United Kingdom(Europe) |
Served as Acting Secretary-General until Lie's election | ||
| 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. [2] | |||||
| 1 | Trygve Lie | 1 February 1946 – 10 November 1952 |
 Norway(Europe) |
Resigned | [3] |
| Lie, a foreign minister and former labor leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post. After the U.N. involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Lie's reappointment in 1951. The U.S. circumvented the Soviet Union's veto and recommended reappointment directly to the General Assembly. Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to five, with eight abstentions. The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie, and he resigned in 1952. [4] | |||||
| 2 | Dag Hammarskjöld | 10 April 1953 – 18 September 1961 |
 Sweden(Europe) |
Died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), while on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo | [5] |
| 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 U.N. 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. [4] U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman of our century."[6] | |||||
| 3 | U Thant |
30 November 1961 – 31 December 1971 |
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Declined to be considered for another term. | [7] |
| In the process of replacing Hammarskjöld, the developing world insisted on a non-European and non-American. U Thant was nominated. However, due to opposition from the French (Thant had chaired a committee on Algerian independence) and the Arabs (Burma was supporting Israel), Thant was only appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. Thant was the first Asian Secretary General. The following year, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a full five-year term. He was similarly re-elected in 1966. Thant did not seek a third term.[4] | |||||
| 4 | Kurt Waldheim | 1 January 1972 – 31 December 1981 |
 Austria(Europe) |
China vetoed his third term | [8] |
| 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-WW II UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim as a suspected war criminal - based on his forced involvement with the Nazi German army. The files had been stored in the UN archive.[4] | |||||
| 5 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar | 1 January 1982 – 31 December 1991 |
 Peru(South America) |
Refused to be considered for a third term. | [9] |
| Pérez de Cuéllar was selected after a five-week deadlock between the re-election of Waldheim and China's candidate, Salim Salim of Tanzania. Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian diplomat, was a compromise candidate, and the first Secretary General from Latin America. He was re-elected unanimously in 1986.[4] | |||||
| 6 | Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Arabic: بطرس بطرس غالي) |
1 January 1992 – 31 December 1996 |
 Egypt(Africa) |
The United States vetoed his second term. | [10] |
| 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. Boutros-Ghali emerged with 11 votes on the fifth round. In 1996 the U.S. vetoed the re-appointment of Boutros-Ghali, claiming he had failed in implementing necessary reforms to the UN. Boutros-Ghali responded saying he was given insufficient resources caused in large part by countries with large debts owed to the U.N., such as the U.S.[4] On his watch the UN suffered two of the worst humiliations in its history, the massacre of almost a million people in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, under the impotent eye of a UN mission, and the massacre in 1995 of tens of thousands of Bosniaks (Muslims) in UN safe zones, including Srebrenica, in ex-Yugoslavia, creating the phrase "ethnic cleansing". In both cases the UN judged itself to be at fault.[11] | |||||
| 7 | Kofi Annan | 1 January 1997 – 31 December 2006 |
 Ghana(Africa) |
Retired after two full terms | [12] |
| Annan was head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations before being selected as the Secretary-General. In 2001, after implementing changes such as a more fiscally responsible budget, Annan was unanimously re-elected to a second term.[4]Mr. Annan, an African, was also selected in an informal "rotation between continents" because Mr. Boutros-Ghali had only served for one term in the office. | |||||
| 8 | Ban Ki-moon (Korean: 반기문;潘基文) |
1 January 2007– |
 South Korea(Asia) |
Currently Serving | [13]. |
|
Mr. Ban became the second Asian to be selected as the Secretary General. The rotation among continents skipped North America for several reasons: a candidate from the United States is looked on unfavorably by many nations, there are few countries in North America to choose from, and Canada and Mexico have not put forward a favored candidate for the role. Mr. Ban overcame the prejudices of being from strife-torn Korea. |
|||||
| UN Regional Group | Secretaries-General | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Western European and Others | 3 | 5 |
| Eastern European Group | 0 | 0 |
| Latin American and Caribbean Group | 1 | 2 |
| Asian Group | 2 | 3 |
| African Group | 2 | 3 |
See also
- Reform of the United Nations
- UN General Assembly
- UN Security Council
- Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
- UN Economic and Social Council
- UN Trusteeship Council
- UN Secretariat
- International Court of Justice
- United Nations System
- Global democracy
- Mundialization
- Presidential election
- League of Nations
- World government
- World presidentialism
References
- ^ Teltsch, kathleen. "Town House Offered to U. N.", The New York Times, 15 July 1972. Accessed 27 December 2007.
- ^ "Lord Gladwyn Is Dead at 96; Briton Helped Found the U.N.". NY Times.
- ^ The United Nations: Trygve Haldvan Lie (Norway). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g "An Historical Overview on the Selection of United Nations Secretaries-General". UNA-USA.
- ^ The United Nations: Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ Linnér, S. (2007). Dag Hammarskjöld and the Congo crisis, 1960-61. Page 28. Uppsala University. (2008-07-22).
- ^ The United Nations: U Thant (Myanmar). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ The United Nations: Kurt Waldheim (Austria). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ The United Nations: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peru). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ The United Nations: Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt). Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ Report Sec-Gen Fall of Srebrenica - 15 nov 1999"
- ^ The United Nations: The Biography of Kofi A. Annan. Accessed 13 December 2006.
- ^ Ban Ki-moon is sworn in as next Secretary-General of the United Nations
External links
- U.N. Secretary-General webpage
- Global Policy Forum - UN Secretary-General
- Report on the process of appointing a new Secretary-General
- UNSGselection.org - a campaign for a more democratic selection process
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The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, Germany, from July 16 to August 2, 1945. The participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The three nations were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Minister Winston Churchill[1] and later Clement Attlee, and President Harry S Truman. The French and the Polish were not invited to participate. Stalin, Churchill, and Truman—as well as Attlee, who replaced Churchill as Prime Minister[3] after the Labour Party's victory over the Conservatives in the 1945 general election—had gathered to decide how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on May 8 (V-E Day). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of war.
Author: NewVizaar
Keywords: Potsdam Conference GERMANY SOVIET UNION UNITED KINGDOM STATES oseph Stalin Winston Churchill Clement Attlee arry Truman world war two WWII video tv docu
Added: January 9, 2009
UN :resolution passes Security - Council calls for cease-fire in Gaza
وافق مجلس الأمن الدولي في جلسته فجر اليوم على مشروع قرار للدول الغربية يدعو إلى وقف إطلاق النار في قطاع غزّة تمهيدا لانسحاب القوات الإسرائيلية منه. وحظي المشروع الذي اقترحته بريطانيا -بعد أن توصلت الدول الغربية إلى توافق عليه مع الدول العربية- بموافقة 14 من أعضاء مجلس الأمن فيما امتنعت الولايات المتحدة عن التصويت عليه. The U.N. Security Council late Thursday overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Fourteen of the council's 15 members voted in favor of the resolution, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice abstaining from the vote on behalf of the United States. The resolution expresses "grave concern" about the growing humanitarian crisis and heavy civilian casualties in Gaza, as well as civilian deaths in Israel from Hamas rocket fire. Roughly 765 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have been killed since Israel began its military assault on Gaza on December 27. The resolution "stresses the urgency of, and calls for, an immediate, durable, and fully respected cease-fire which will lead to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza." A resolution from the council, particularly one that passes with such large support, can put international pressure on parties involved in a conflict. But they are in no way binding, and many in the past have been ignored by warring factions. "We are all very conscious that peace is made on the ground while resolutions are written in the U.N.," said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. "Our job here is to support the efforts for peace on the ground and turn the good words on paper into changes on the ground that are so desperately needed." Rice applauded the resolution's goals, but said the United States prefers to wait for results of ongoing, Egyptian-brokered talks in Cairo, Egypt, with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. She said the United States supported the text, goals and objectives of the resolution, but that the United States feels it's important to see the terms of any cease-fire hammered out in Egypt. The resolution welcomes efforts by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to broker a cease-fire. It calls for opening corridors to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza -- where food, water, electricity and medicine shortages have worsened already poor conditions since Israel's offensive in Gaza began. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, told the Security Council that Hamas rocket attacks "left us with no choice." "The responsibility for the current hostilities lies squarely on Hamas," she said. "The international community must focus its efforts on the Hamas activity and make sure that the terrorist activity can never be legitimate." The Israeli military says its operation is aimed at halting the firing of rockets into southern Israel by Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007. Wrangling over the resolution centered on wording. Arab countries generally pushed for language demanding Israel cease its attacks, while Western diplomats wanted more neutral language. "Security for the people of Gaza, too. Not security for Israel alone," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, of Egypt, said before the vote as reporters were asking diplomats about the resolution. The 15-member Security Council is tasked by the United Nations with establishing and maintaining peace around the globe. It has the power to create peacekeeping operations, impose sanctions and authorize military action. The United States, Russia, China, France and Great Britain are the five permanent members, with the other 10 elected by the U.N. assembly to two-year terms. Any one of the permanent members can veto a resolution.
Author: ArchivesAlgeriennes
Keywords: Gaza UN Security Council cease-fire resolution sweden denmark finland scandinavia israel army jihad CNN AFP BBC childrens war FOX CBS ITN New York Clash air strike missile obama us ali germany america f-16 bush terrorism israeli england IDF Palestine iran al jazeera sky news usa Hamas islam jews muslims iraq algerie australia algeria tv France arabs sarkozy china russia allah egypt الجزائر فلسطين غزة إسرائيل حماس إسلام جهاد العراق مصر حرب
Added: January 8, 2009
U S abstains from Voting for resolution
The UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that Arab nations hope will put an end to Israel's 14-day assault on the territory. The resolution, passed by the 15-member body on Thursday with 14 votes in favour and only the US abstaining, "stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza". The resolution also called for arrangements in Gaza to prevent arms smuggling to Palestinian fighters and reopen border crossings. It said there should be "unimpeded provision" and distribution of aid to the territory, where more than 770 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said he was "heartened and relieved" by the passing of the resolution. The UN chief, who will visit the Middle East next week for talks on the crisis, said the UN "stands ready" and that a ceasefire would be a "first step", but that "a political way forward is required to deliver long-term security and peace". The text was the product of days of tortuous negotiations between top diplomats from the United States, Britain and France and Arab states. Arab countries, many facing strong anti-Israeli sentiment at home, insisted the Security Council must issue a binding resolution that would force Israel to end its military campaign in the Gaza Strip immediately. Israel had opposed the idea of a binding UN resolution. The United States had backed its ally Israel but diplomats said it dropped its objections and agreed to go along with a cautiously worded text. The US abstained from voting for the resolution, but Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, said the United States supported the contents of the resolution. "The United States thought it important to see the outcomes of the Egyptian mediation efforts in order to see what this resolution might have been supporting," she said. Riyad al Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, sounded sceptical after the passage of the resolution and said it might not bring about an immediate end to the violence in Gaza. He said it would be naive to expect that Israel would implement the ceasefire call immediately. He said he feared that the Israelis would expand their Gaza offensive in the next few days, to hit more targets before any truce comes into effect. "I do believe that we will witness in the next two days vicious attacks against the Palestinian people and more Palestinians being killed even after such resolution has been passed," al Maliki said. Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakhry, reporting from the UN, said the resolution was only a partial victory for Arab leaders, who succeeded in pushing through a resolution when the US and other nations were keener on issuing a non-binding "presidential statement".
Author: ArchivesAlgeriennes
Keywords: Gaza UN Security Council cease-fire resolution sweden denmark finland scandinavia israel army jihad CNN AFP BBC childrens war FOX CBS ITN New York Clash air strike missile obama us ali germany america f-16 bush terrorism israeli england IDF Palestine iran al jazeera sky news usa Hamas islam jews muslims iraq algerie australia algeria tv France arabs sarkozy china russia allah egypt الجزائر فلسطين غزة إسرائيل حماس إسلام جهاد العراق مصر حرب
Added: January 8, 2009
Security Council calls for immediate truce in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council voted late Thursday to call for an "immediate, durable" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip leading to the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces, but the United States abstained. Fourteen of the council's members voted in favor of the compromise resolution worked out in three days of intense bargaining involving several Arab foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Foreign Secretary..
Author: albertking12
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Added: January 8, 2009
Pressconference United Nations New York - Independent investigation in Gaza required
'Veiligheidsraad VN akkoord met Gazaresolutie' Uitgegeven: 8 januari 2009 22:51 Laatst gewijzigd: 8 januari 2009 23:19 NEW YORK - De Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties is donderdag akkoord gegaan met een resolutie over het conflict rond de Gazastrook. Dat meldde nieuwszender CNN donderdag op basis van diplomaten rond de raad. De tekst wordt later donderdag formeel in stemming gebracht. De ontwerpresolutie roept volgens een anonieme westerse diplomaat op tot een ''onmiddellijk, duurzaam en volkomen gerespecteerd staakt-het-vuren''. Dit moet ertoe leiden dat Israël zijn troepen terugtrekt uit de Gazastrook, aldus de gezant. Alle ''vijandigheden en terreurdaden tegen burgers'' zouden worden veroordeeld. © ANP ZIE OOK: REF. UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS ASSIGNED INDEPENDENT REPORTS (GENEVA - NEW YORK) Hulporganisatie trekt zich terug uit Gaza Uitgegeven: 8 januari 2009 14:07 Laatst gewijzigd: 8 januari 2009 16:42 AMSTERDAM - Vluchtelingenorganisatie Unrwa van de Verenigde Naties is donderdag gestopt met het verlenen van hulp aan Palestijnen in de Gazastrook. Het werk is te gevaarlijk geworden. Protesten tegen situatie Gaza Militairen zouden medisch personeel verhinderen bij patiënten of voorraden te komen. Ook wordt volgens het Unrwa geschoten op ambulances en hulpverleners. De humanitaire situatie in de Gazastrook verslechtert met het uur, zegt de VN-organisatie. Een miljoen van de 1,5 miljoen mensen in de Gazastrook zit zonder stroom. Circa 750.000 mensen hebben geen water. De overvolle ziekenhuizen draaien op noodgeneratoren. Voedseltekort De voedselvoorraad van de Palestijnen is voor de komende dagen nog op peil. Maar sinds de sluiting van een belangrijke grensovergang vreest het Unrwa dat de voorraad snel slinkt en voedseltekorten zullen ontstaan. VN- medewerker gedood Donderdag is in de Gazastrook een konvooi met hulpgoederen voor de Palestijnen beschoten door Israëlische strijdkrachten. Daarbij werd een Palestijnse VN-medewerker gedood; twee anderen raakten gewond. Dit heeft het hoofd van de VN-hulpmissie Unrwa in Gaza, John Ging, gezegd tegen het tv-station al-Jazeera. Volgens hem had de VN zijn konvooi aangemeld bij de Israëli's. Het Israëlische leger zegt het incident te onderzoeken. Rode Kruis Ook het Rode Kruis klaagt steen en been over de omstandigheden waaronder het personeel moet werken in het gebied. De organisatie stelt dat Israël de toegang tot gewonden belemmert. Militairen zouden medisch personeel verhinderen bij patiënten te komen. Ook wordt volgens het Rode Kruis geschoten op ambulances en hulpverleners. Artsen zonder Grenzen Een ander punt van kritiek is dat de dagelijkse adempauze tussen 13.00 en 16.00 uur te kort is om mensen te helpen. Ook Artsen zonder Grenzen kampt met de gevolgen hiervan. ,,De onveiligheid is zo groot dat onze bewegingsvrijheid en de mogelijkheid om medische hulp te bieden extreem beperkt zijn'', aldus een woordvoerster. Ziekenhuizen overspoeld De afdelingen spoedeisende hulp van de ziekenhuizen in het belaagde gebied worden overstroomd met gewonden. In het Shifa-ziekenhuis zijn de laatste tien dagen meer dan driehonderd operaties uitgevoerd. De meeste noodgevallen zijn patiënten met ernstige verwondingen, meestal aan de borstkas, de buik en het gezicht.
Author: AGIntermedic
Keywords: breaking news gotcha! Red Cross Gaza Hamas Israel killed Palestines UN Unrwa wounded Holmes Secretary General 元旦快乐！謹賀新年！
Added: January 8, 2009