An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Secretary-General for a renewable term of four years.
Appointment and accountability
The majority of USGs are appointed by the UN 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 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.
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.
USGs have diplomatic rank equivalent to that of a national cabinet minister. Under Article 105 of the United Nations Charter they have diplomatic immunity.
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.
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
Christian Friis Bach * - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)Alicia Bárcena * - United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)María Eugenia Casar - Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)Helen Clark * - Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), also chair of the United Nations Development GroupJoan Clos * - Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT)Ertharin Cousin * - World Food Programme (WFP)Shamshad Akhtar Detho * - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)Grete Faremo - Executive Director of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)Yuri Fedotov * - Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna and Chief Executive, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)Filippo Grandi * - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein * - High Commissioner, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)Rima Khalaf * - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)Mukhisa Kituyi * - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)Tony Lake * - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)Carlos Lopes * - Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)David M. Malone * - Rector, United Nations University (UNU)Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka* - Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, (UN Women)Babatunde Osotimehin * - Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)Michel Sidibé - Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)Achim Steiner * - Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Sahle-Work Zewde* - Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi, (UNON)Gyan Chandra Acharya - High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDSZainab Hawa Bangura* - Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in ConflictPeter Thomas Drennan * - Under-Secretary-General for Safety and SecurityJeffrey D. Feltman * - Under-Secretary-General for Political AffairsTegegnework Gettu * - Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference ManagementAtul Khare - Under-Secretary-General for Department of Field SupportAngela Kane * - Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for Disarmament AffairsHervé Ladsous * - Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping OperationsPeter Launsky-Tieffenthal* - Under-Secretary-General for Public InformationAugustine P. Mahiga* - Under-Secretary-General, Mediator-in-Residence, DPA’s Mediator Debriefing and Lessons Learned ProgrammeSusana Malcorra * - Under-Secretary-General, Chef de CabinetHeidi Mendoza * - Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight ServicesStephen O’Brien * - Under-Secretary-General and Humanitarian Affairs Emergency Relief CoordinatorBabatunde Osotimehin* - Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund,UNFPACarlos Gabriel Ruiz Massieu Aguirre - Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary QuestionsKingston Papie Rhodes - Chairman of the International Civil Service CommissionMiguel de Serpa Soares * - Under-Secretary-General and Legal CounselYukio Takasu Under-Secretary-General for ManagementWu Hongbo * - Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social AffairsLeila Zerrougui - Special Representative for Children and Armed ConflictSahle-Work Zewde - Director-General of the United Nations Office at NairobiMaged A. Abdelaziz* - Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on AfricaAdama Dieng* - Under-Secretary-General Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of GenocidePhilippe Douste-Blazy - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Innovative Financing for DevelopmentEspen Barth Eide* Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on CyprusPaul Farmer* - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for community-based medicine and lessons from HaitiWilfried Lemke - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and PeaceKim Won-soo - Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-GeneralNicolas Michel* - Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Mediator in the border dispute between Equatorial Guinea and GabonVijay Nambiar * - Special Adviser to the Secretary-GeneralJoseph Verner Reed, Jr. - Special Adviser to the Secretary-GeneralIqbal Riza* - Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-GeneralJeffrey Sachs - Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals, Director of the United Nations Millennium ProjectGordon Brown* - Special Envoy for Global EducationRay Chambers* - Special Envoy for MalariaMichel Kazatchkine* - Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central AsiaHaile Menkerios* - Under-Secretary-General, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan and South Sudan and Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African UnionMatthew Nimetz* - Under-Secretary-General, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Greece-FYROM TalksJ.V. Prasada Rao* - Special Envoy for AIDS in Asia & PacificMary Robinson - Special Envoy on Climate ChangeTerje Rød-Larsen* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559/2004Jacques Rogge* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Youth Refugees and SportChristopher Ross* - Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western SaharaGuebre Sellassie* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the SahelThe Deputy Secretary-General is the second highest-ranking official in the UN System after the Secretary-General. Amina Mohammed is the current office holder.
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.
