Editing United Nations (section)

=== UN Secretariat ===
{{Main|United Nations Secretariat|Secretary-General of the United Nations}}
[[File:António Guterres, 23.03.23.jpg|thumb|upright|[[António Guterres]], the current [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|secretary-general]]]]

The UN Secretariat carries out the day-to-day duties required to operate and maintain the UN system.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Secretariat |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/secretariat |access-date=18 October 2021 |website=United Nations |language=en |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310222628/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/secretariat|url-status=live}}</ref> It is composed of tens of thousands of international civil servants worldwide and headed by the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|secretary-general]], who is assisted by the [[Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations|deputy secretary-general]].{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=21}} The Secretariat's duties include providing information and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings and carrying out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=285}}

The secretary-general acts as the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's chief administrative officer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xv/index.html |title=United Nations Charter: Chapter XV |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2 November 2017 |date=17 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107221935/http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xv/index.html |archive-date=7 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Article 99 of the charter states that the secretary-general can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that secretaries-general since [[Trygve Lie]] have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=31–32}} The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to [[list of global issues|global issues]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=59–62}}

The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years it has become accepted that the position shall be held for one or two terms of five years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sg/appointment.shtml |title=Appointment Process |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2 November 2017 |date=22 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415124432/http://www.un.org/sg/appointment.shtml |archive-date=15 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The current secretary-general is [[António Guterres]] of Portugal, who replaced [[Ban Ki-moon]] in 2017.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:left;"
|+ style="padding-top:1em;" |Secretaries-general of the United Nations<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sg/formersgs.shtml |title=Former Secretaries-General |publisher=United Nations |access-date=6 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017074925/http://www.un.org/sg/formersgs.shtml |archive-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
! No. || Name !! Country of origin !! Took office !! Left office !! Notes
|-
| –
|[[Gladwyn Jebb]]
|{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|24 October 1945
|2 February 1946
|Served as acting secretary-general until Lie's election
|-
| 1 || [[Trygve Lie]] || {{flag|Norway}} || 2 February 1946 || 10 November 1952 || Resigned
|-
| 2 || [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] || {{flag|Sweden}} || 10 April 1953 || 18 September 1961 || Died in office
|-
| 3 || [[U Thant]] || {{flag|Burma|1948}} || 30 November 1961 || 31 December 1971 ||First non-European to hold office
|-
| 4 || [[Kurt Waldheim]] || {{flag|Austria}} || 1 January 1972 || 31 December 1981 ||
|-
| 5 || [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]] || {{flag|Peru}} || 1 January 1982 || 31 December 1991 ||
|-
| 6 || [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] || {{flag|Egypt}} || 1 January 1992 || 31 December 1996 ||Served for the shortest time
|-
| 7 || [[Kofi Annan]] || {{flag|Ghana}} || 1 January 1997 || 31 December 2006 ||
|-
| 8 || [[Ban Ki-moon]] || {{flag|South Korea}} || 1 January 2007 || 31 December 2016 ||
|-
| 9 || [[António Guterres]] || {{flag|Portugal}} || 1 January 2017||''Incumbent''||
|}