An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

within the

United Nations System The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal bodies (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations ...

, normally appointed by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

on the recommendation of the

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

for a renewable term of four years. Under-secretary-general is the third highest rank in the United Nations, after the secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general. The rank is held by the heads of different UN entities, certain high officials of the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

, and high-level envoys. The United Nations regards the rank as equal to that of a cabinet minister of a member state, and under-secretaries-general have

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

under the

UN Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

Appointment and accountability

The majority of USGs are appointed by the

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 The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

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

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 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

, 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 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univer ...

also has the rank of under-secretary-general, yet does not use the title.

Diplomatic rank

USGs have

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, Seating plan, t ...

equivalent to that of a national cabinet minister. Under Article 105 of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

they have

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 Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

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 Volker Türk (born 27 August 1965) is an Austrian lawyer and United Nations official. He has been the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since October 2022. Career Early years In 1991, Türk became a UN Junior Professional Officer and ha ...

* – High Commissioner, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) *

Jorge Moreira da Silva Jorge Manuel Lopes Moreira da Silva Order of Prince Henry, GOIH (born 24 April 1971) is a Portuguese people, Portuguese engineer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social Democratic Party serving as the executive director o ...

– Executive Director of

United Nations Office for Project Services The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations agency dedicated to implementing humanitarian and development projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partners ...

(UNOPS) *

Ghada Waly Ghada Fathi Waly (born 1965) is an Egypt, Egyptian politician, formerly serving as Egypt's Minister of Social Solidarity and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) betwe ...

* – Director-General,

United Nations Office at Vienna The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. UNOV was established on 1 January 1980, and was the third such complex to be create ...

and Chief Executive,

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French language, French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention ...

(UNODC) * Sima Sami Bahous* – Under-Secretary-General, executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) *

Winnie Byanyima Winifred Byanyima (born 13 January 1959), is a Uganda, Ugandan aeronautical engineering, aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist and diplomat. She is the executive director of UNAIDS, effective November 2019. From M ...

– Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) *

Doreen Bogdan-Martin Doreen Bogdan-Martin (born 1966) is an international civil servant and current Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union. She was elected at the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, and as the first woman in the ...

– Secretary-General

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

Chaesub Lee Chaesub Lee PhD ( Korean: 이재섭) is a telecommunication executive who served as the Director of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, the permanent secretariat of the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardiza ...

– Director

ITU-T The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is one of the three Sectors (branches) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It is responsible for coordinating Standardization, standards fo ...

Rebeca Grynspan Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (born 14 December 1955) is a Costa Rican economist who has been serving as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 13 September 2021. Grynspan p ...

* –

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

(UNCTAD) * Tegegnework Gettu – Associate Administrator,

(UNDP) *

Achim Steiner Achim Steiner (born 17 May 1961) is a Brazilian-German environmentalist who currently serves as the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and vice-chair of United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Before joining UNDP, ...

* – Administrator,

(UNDP), also chair of the

United Nations Development Group The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a group of 37 United Nations funds, programmes, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development. I ...

* Claver Gatate * – Executive Secretary,

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

(UNECA) * Olga Algayerova * –

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econom ...

(UNECE) *

Rola Dashti Rola Abdulla Dashti (; born 1964) is a Kuwaiti economist and business executive and former politician and minister. Dashti lobbied for the May 2005 decree permitting Women in Arab societies, Kuwaiti women to run for parliamentary elections for the ...

* – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) * Armida Alisjahbana * –

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(UNESCAP) * Natalia Kanem * – Executive Director,

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

(UNFPA) * Inger Andersen * – Executive Director,

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP) *

Maimunah Mohd Sharif Malay styles and titles#State titles, Dato' Seri Maimunah binti Mohd Sharif (born 26 August 1961) is a Malaysian civil servant and urban planner who has been serving as the 15th Mayor of Kuala Lumpur since August 2024. She also served as the Ex ...

* – Executive Director,

United Nations Human Settlements Programme The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settle ...

(UN-HABITAT) *

Filippo Grandi Filippo Grandi (born 30 March 1957) is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official, currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agenc ...

* –

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

(UNHCR) * Catherine M. Russell * –

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to childre ...

(UNICEF) *

Tshilidzi Marwala Tshilidzi Marwala (born 28 July 1971) is a South African artificial intelligence engineer, a computer scientist, a mechanical engineer and a university administrator. He is currently Rector (academia), Rector of the United Nations University ...

* – Rector,

United Nations University The is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve list of global issues, global issues related to Human development ...

(UNU) * Cindy McCain * – Executive Director,

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

(WFP)

Secretariat officials

* Alice Wairimu Nderitu – Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to United Nations Secretary-General"Alice Wairimu Nderitu,"
United Nations. * Rabab Fatima – High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS *

Pramila Patten Pramila Patten (; born 29 June 1958) is a Mauritian barrister, women's rights activist, and United Nations official, who currently serves as the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Under-Secretary-General of ...

* – Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict * Gilles Michaud * – Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security *

Rosemary DiCarlo Rosemary Anne DiCarlo (born 1947) is an United States of America, American diplomat who has served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs since May 2018. She previously served as acting United States Am ...

* – Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs * Atul Khare – Under-Secretary-General for Department of Operational Support *

Izumi Nakamitsu Izumi Nakamitsu (中満泉 ''Nakamitsu Izumi''; born 1963) is a United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs from March 29, 2017, appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. She succeeded Kim Won-soo of the ...

* – 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 * * – Director-General of the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

* 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 Melissa Ruth Fleming is an American journalist, author, and United Nations official. She has been head of the United Nations Department of Global Communications since 2019. She is the author of ''A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.' Education ...

* – 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 Gambabr>– Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
* Zainab Hawa Bangura – Director-General of the

United Nations Office at Nairobi The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON, ) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is one of four major United Nations office sites where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. Established in 1996, it is the UN's official headquarte ...

* 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) * Benedicta Jeanne Louise Neysa Nathania D'Orleans Vieira de Mello Jang - Under-Secretary-General and Coordinator of Adaptation Academy at the UNFCCC and of UNOG

Advisers

* Bience Gawanas* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Africa * Alice Wairimu Nderitu* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide *

Philippe Douste-Blazy Philippe Douste-Blazy (; born 1 January 1953) is a French United Nations official and former centre-right politician. Over the course of his career, he served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Adviser on Innovative Financi ...

– Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Innovative Financing for Development *

Paul Farmer Paul Edward Farmer (October 26, 1959 – February 21, 2022) was an American medical anthropology, medical anthropologist and physician. Farmer held an MD and PhD from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard University Professor, University ...

* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for community-based medicine and lessons from Haiti * 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 * Iqbal Riza* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General * Jeffrey Sachs – Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on the

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

(2004–2006), Director of the United Nations Millennium Project *

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jonas Gahr Støre's government, having previously done so under Jens Stoltenberg. He has been ...

* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus (2014–2017) * Vijay Nambiar* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General (2012–2016) *

Wilfried Lemke Wilfried "Willi" Lemke (19 August 1946 – 12 August 2024) was a German football manager who later worked as a United Nations official. He served as United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace. He was ...

– Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace (2008–2016)

Special envoys

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

* - 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 Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

- 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 very senior UN positions

Deputy secretary-general

The deputy secretary-general is the second highest-ranking official in the

UN System The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal bodies (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations ...

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

References

External links

UN Protocol and Liaison Service – List of Senior UN OfficialsList of UN Senior Management Group with biographies and photosUN Global Leadership Team
{{United Nations, state=expanded United Nations Secretariat United Nations posts *