Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Senior official in the United Nations
- 6 min read
- 6 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Official, United Nations System and United Nations Development Programme
Appointment and accountability
The majority of USGs are appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the 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 their own authority. However, all USGs report to the General Assembly through the 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 therefore is 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.
Sign in to keep reading
5 more chapters are free with a Lably account.
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. The UN high commissioner for human rights also has the rank of under-secretary-general, yet does not use the title.
Diplomatic rank
USGs have diplomatic rank equivalent to that of a national cabinet minister. Under Article 105 of the United Nations Charter they have diplomatic immunity.
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 United Nations 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.
List of under-secretaries-general
The following is a list of under-secretaries-general or those with equivalent rank. This list is not exhaustive. Members of the SMG are indicated by an asterisk (*).
Programmes and commissions
- Volker Türk * – High Commissioner, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Jorge Moreira da Silva – Executive Director of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
- Monica Juma * – Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna and Chief Executive, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- Sima Sami Bahous * – Under-Secretary-General, executive director of UN Women
- Winnie Byanyima – Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
- Doreen Bogdan-Martin – Secretary-General International Telecommunication Union
- Chaesub Lee – Director, International Telecommunications Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
- Rebeca Grynspan * – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- Alexander De Croo * – Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), also Vice-Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group
- Claver Gatate * – Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
- Olga Algayerova * – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
- Rola Dashti * – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
- Armida Alisjahbana * – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
- Natalia Kanem * – Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- Inger Andersen * – Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Maimunah Mohd Sharif * – Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
- Filippo Grandi * – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Catherine M. Russell * – United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- Tshilidzi Marwala * – Rector, United Nations University (UNU)
- Benedicta Neysa Nathania - Coordinator of Adaptation Academy (UNFCCC - UNHREP), Director-General of UNHREP (UN Human Rights Educational Project) (with Sergio Vieira de Mello, posthumous)
- Cindy McCain * – Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
Secretariat officials
- Chaloka Beyani * – Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG)
- Rabab Fatima – High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS
- Pramila Patten * – Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
- Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert * – Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security
- Rosemary DiCarlo * – Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
- Atul Khare – Under-Secretary-General for Department of Operational Support
- Izumi Nakamitsu * – Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
- Jean-Pierre Lacroix * – Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations
- Alison Smale * – Under-Secretary-General for Public Information
- Thomas Fletcher * – Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
- Augustine P. Mahiga * – Under-Secretary-General, Mediator-in-Residence, DPA's Mediator Debriefing and Lessons Learned Programme
- Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti * – Under-Secretary-General, Chef de Cabinet
- Fatoumata Ndiaye * – Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services
- Tatiana Valovaya * – Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva
- Catherine Pollard * – Under-Secretary-General Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance
- Movses Abelian * – Under-Secretary-General Department for General Assembly and Conference Management
- Melissa Fleming * – Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications
- Elinor Hammarskjöld * – Under-Secretary-General and Legal Counsel
- Li Junhua * – Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
- Virginia Gamba – Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
- Zainab Hawa Bangura – Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi
- Vladimir Voronkov * – Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism
- Miguel Ángel Moratinos – Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
Advisers
- Chaloka Beyani * – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide
- Philippe Douste-Blazy – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Innovative Financing for Development
- Paul Farmer * – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for community-based medicine and lessons from Haiti
- Bience Gawanas * – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Africa
- Kim Won-soo – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
- Nicolas Michel * – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Mediator in the border dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
- George William Okoth-Obbo – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (since 2021)
- Joseph Verner Reed, Jr. – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
- Jeffrey Sachs – Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals (2004–2006), Director of the United Nations Millennium Project
- Espen Barth Eide * – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus (2014–2017)
- Vijay Nambiar * – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General (2012–2016)
- Wilfried Lemke – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace (2008–2016)
Special envoys
- Gordon Brown * - Special Envoy for Global Education
- Ray Chambers * - Special Envoy for Malaria
- Michel Kazatchkine * - Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- Nicholas Haysom * - Under-Secretary-General, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan and South Sudan
- Hanna Tetteh * - Under-Secretary-General, Head of United Nations Office to the African Union
- Matthew Nimetz * - Under-Secretary-General, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Greece-FYROM Talks
- Mary Robinson - Special Envoy on Climate Change
- Terje Rød-Larsen * - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559/2004
- Jacques Rogge * - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Youth Refugees and Sport
- Christopher Ross * - Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara
- Hiroute Guebre Sellassie * - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel
- Noeleen Heyzer - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar
- Retno Marsudi - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Water
Other senior UN positions
Deputy secretary-general
The deputy secretary-general is the second highest-ranking official in the UN System after the secretary-general. Amina Mohammed is the current office holder.
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 or her to the UN secretary-general.