Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

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]

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
Emblem of the United Nations
Incumbent Amina J. Mohammed since 1 January 2017
United Nations United Nations Secretariat
Style	Her Excellency
Type	Deputy Chief administrative officer
Reports to	The Secretary-General
Seat	UN Headquarters New York City (international territory)
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 must 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	Louise Fréchette
Formation	1997
Website	Deputy Secretary-General

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.	Portrait	Deputy Secretary-General	Country	Term	Secretary-General
1		Louise FréchetteLouise Fréchette	Canada	2 March 1998 – 1 April 2006	Kofi Annan
2		Mark Malloch BrownMark Malloch Brown	United Kingdom	1 April 2006 – 31 December 2006
3		Asha-Rose MigiroAsha-Rose Migiro	Tanzania	5 February 2007 – 1 July 2012	Ban Ki-moon
4		Jan EliassonJan Eliasson	Sweden	1 July 2012 – 31 December 2016
5		Amina J. MohammedAmina J. Mohammed[6]	Nigeria	1 January 2017 – present	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 Others	3
Eastern European Group	0
Latin American and Caribbean Group	0
Asia-Pacific Group	0
African Group	2

References

1. 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. 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.

External links

• UN Deputy Secretary-General