Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
Incumbent
Amina J. Mohammed
since 1 January 2017
United Nations
United Nations Secretariat
StyleHer Excellency
Reports toThe Secretary-General
SeatUN Headquarters
New York City (international territory)
AppointerThe 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 lengthSee below
The term of office of the Deputy Secretary-General must not exceed that of the Secretary-General.[1]
Constituting instrumentGeneral Assembly Resolution 52/12 B[1]
PrecursorDeputy Secretary-General of the League of Nations
Inaugural holderLouise Fréchette
Formation1997
WebsiteDeputy 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 programs.[2][3] The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997.[1]

Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria was named as deputy secretary-general by then secretary-general-designate António Guterres. Mohammed assumed the office the same day as Guterres began his term, on 1 January 2017.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities generally delegated by the secretary-general to the deputy secretary-general include:[4]

(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 programs 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.[5]

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 2 March 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 31 March 2006.[4]

On 3 March 2006 it was announced that Mark Malloch Brown from the United Kingdom would succeed Louise Fréchette as deputy secretary-general on 1 April 2006. Brown left his post concurrent with Kofi Annan's departure as secretary-general on 31 December 2006.[4]

List of deputy secretaries-general

No. Deputy Secretary-General Portrait Country Term Secretary-General
1 Louise Fréchette  Canada 2 March 1998 – 1 April 2006 Ghana Kofi Annan
2 Mark Malloch Brown  United Kingdom 1 April 2006 – 31 December 2006
3 Asha-Rose Migiro  Tanzania 5 February 2007 – 1 July 2012 South Korea Ban Ki-moon
4 Jan Eliasson  Sweden 1 July 2012 – 31 December 2016
5 Amina J. Mohammed[6]  Nigeria 1 January 2017 – present Portugal António Guterres
Countries that have had a national serve as deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.
UN Regional Group Deputy Secretaries-General
Western European and Others3
Eastern European Group0
Latin American and Caribbean Group0
Asia-Pacific Group0
African Group2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 United Nations. General Assembly (52nd Session) (1998-01-09). "Renewing the United Nations: a program for reform (A/RES/52/12 B)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-08.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 3 United Nations Dept. of Public Information. "Deputy Secretary-General". Archived from the original on 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  5. "UNDG Members". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  6. "Respecting gender parity and geographical diversity pledges, SG-designate Guterres appoints core team members". UN News Centre. United Nations. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.