Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

Incumbent
Sweden Jan Eliasson
since 1 July 2012
United Nations
United Nations Secretariat
Style Excellency
Reports to The Secretary-General
Seat UN Headquarters
New York City, USA
Appointer

The Secretary-General
The Secretary-General appoints the Deputy Secretary-General following consultations

with Member States and in accordance with Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations.[1]
Term length See below
The term of office of the Deputy Secretary-General cannot not exceed that of the Secretary-General.[1]
Constituting instrument General Assembly Resolution 52/12 B[1]
Precursor Deputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations
Inaugural holder Canada Louise Fréchette
Formation 1997
Website Deputy Secretary-General

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is the deputy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary-General, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programmes.[2][3] The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997.[1]

Jan Eliasson of Sweden was named as Deputy Secretary-General by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on March 2, 2012. He was formally appointed and assumed office on July 1, 2012.[4]

Responsibilities

Responsibilities generally delegated by the Secretary-General to the Deputy Secretary-General include:[5]

(a) To assist the Secretary-General in managing the operations of the Secretariat;
(b) To act for the Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters in the absence of the Secretary-General and in other cases as may be decided by the Secretary-General;
(c) To support the Secretary-General in ensuring inter-sectoral and inter-institutional coherence of activities and programmes and to support the Secretary-General in elevating the profile and leadership of the United Nations in the economic and social spheres, including further efforts to strengthen the United Nations as a leading centre for development policy and development assistance;
(d) To represent the Secretary-General at conferences, official functions and ceremonial and other occasions as may be decided by the Secretary-General;
(e) To undertake such assignments as may be determined by the Secretary-General;

The Director in the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General is a sitting observer of the United Nations Development Group.[6]

History

Canadian Louise Fréchette was the first Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, holding the position from 1998 to 2005. She was appointed to the post by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and assumed her duties on March 2, 1998. In 2005, partly in response to criticism by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker for failed management of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme, Frechette announced her resignation. She remained at her post until March 31, 2006.[5]

On March 3, 2006 it was announced that Mark Malloch Brown from the United Kingdom would succeed Louise Fréchette as Deputy Secretary-General on April 1, 2006. Brown left his post concurrent with Kofi Annan's departure as Secretary-General on December 31, 2006.[5]

List of Deputy Secretary-Generals

Deputy Secretary-Generals
 Portrait Country Term Secretary-General
Louise Fréchette  Canada 2 March 1998 – 1 April 2006 Kofi Annan
Mark Malloch Brown  United Kingdom 1 April 2006 – 31 December 2006
Asha-Rose Migiro  Tanzania 5 February 2007 – 1 July 2012 Ban Ki-moon
Jan Eliasson  Sweden 1 July 2012 – present
Countries that have had a national serve as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
UN Regional Group Deputy Secretaries-General
Western European and Others 3
Eastern European Group 0
Latin American and Caribbean Group 0
Asia-Pacific Group 0
African Group 1

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 United Nations. General Assembly (52nd Session) (1998-01-09). "Renewing the United Nations: a programme for reform (A/RES/52/12 B)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  2. ↑ United Nations. General Assembly (52nd Session) (1997-10-07). "Report of the Secretary-General, Addendum (A/51/950/Add.1)" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  3. ↑ United Nations. General Assembly (52nd Session) (1997-11-10). "Letter dated 10 November 1997 from the Secretary-General to the President of the General Assembly (A/52/585)" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  4. ↑ "Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations". United Nations. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  5. 1 2 3 United Nations Dept. of Public Information. "Deputy Secretary-General". Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  6. ↑ http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13
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