The United Nations Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and carries out the day-to-day work of the UN. It services the principal organs of the UN and implements their programs and policies. The Secretariat has over 43,000 staff members worldwide. As international civil servants, UN staff take an oath to be impartial and only take direction from the UN. The Secretary-General is appointed by the UN General Assembly for a five-year renewable term, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General oversees the Secretariat and represents the UN on global issues.

1. Ban ki-moon(2007-present)
The Secretariat — an international staff working in duty stations around the world — carries out the
diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations
and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General,
who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year,
renewable term.
The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations.
These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating international disputes, from
surveying economic and social trends and problems to preparing studies on human rights and
sustainable development. Secretariat staffs also inform the world's communications media about the work
of the United Nations; organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret
speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official languages.
The Secretariat has around 43,000 staff members around the world (source: Secretary-General's report
A/67/329).
As international civil servants, staff members and the Secretary-General answer to the United Nations
alone for their activities, and take an oath not to seek or receive instructions from any Government or
outside authority. Under the Charter, each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively
international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and to refrain from
seeking to influence them improperly in the discharge of their duties.
The United Nations, while headquartered in New York, maintains a significant presence in Addis Ababa,
Bangkok, Beirut, Geneva, Nairobi, Santiago and Vienna, and has offices all over the world.
The UN currently has 16 peace operations, deployed on four continents. Serving the cause of peace in a
violent world is a dangerous occupation. Since the founding of the United Nations, hundreds of brave
men and women have given their lives in its service.
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S FIVE-YEAR ACTION AGENDA
25 JANUARY 2012
Generational Imperatives and Opportunities
1. Sustainable development
2. Prevention
3. Building a safer and more secure world by innovating and building on our core business
4. Supporting nations in transition
5. Working with and for women and young people

2. Role
The Secretary-General was envisioned by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator",
but the vague definition provided by the UN Charter left much room for interpretation by those who would
later inhabit the position. According to the UN website, his roles are further defined as "diplomat and
advocate, civil servant, and CEO".[2] Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the
office holders from speaking out and playing important roles on global issues to various degrees.
Article 97 under Chapter XV of the UN Charter states that the Secretary-General shall be the "chief
administrative officer" of the Organization, but does not dictate his specific obligations.
Responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100, which states that
he shall act as the officer "in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the
Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, and shall perform other functions as are
entrusted to him by these organs". He is responsible, according to Article 99, for making an annual report
to the General Assembly as well as notifying the Security Council on matters which "in his opinion may
threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". Other than these few guidelines, little else
is dictated by the Charter. Interpretation of the Charter has varied between Secretaries-General, with
some being much more active than others.
The Secretary-General is highly dependent upon the support of the member states of the UN. "The
Secretary-General would fail if he did not take careful account of the concerns of Member States, but he
must also uphold the values and moral authority of the United Nations, and speak and act for peace, even
at the risk, from time to time, of challenging or disagreeing with those same Member States."[2]
"The personal skills of the Secretary-General and his staff are crucial to their function. The central
position of the UN headquarters in the international diplomatic network is also an important asset. The
Secretary-General has the right to place any dispute on the provisional agenda of the Security Council.
However, he works mostly behind the scenes if the members of the council are unwilling to discuss a
dispute. Most of his time is spent on good offices missions and mediation, sometimes at the request of
deliberative organs of the UN, but also frequently on his own initiative. His function may be frustrated,
replaced or supplemented by mediation efforts by the major powers. UN peacekeeping missions are often
closely linked to mediation (peacemaking). The recent improvement in relations between the permanent
members of the Security Council has strengthened the role of the Secretary-General as the world's most
reputable intermediary."[citation needed]

3. Residence
The official residence of the Secretary-General is a five-story townhouse in Sutton Place,
Manhattan, in New York City, United States. The townhouse was built for Anne Morgan in 1921,
and donated to the United Nations in 1972.[3]
Term and selection
Dag Hammarskjöld was a particularly active UN Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961.
Hammarskjöld acted as a mediator during the Suez Crisis and the 1960 capture of a U.S. reconnaissance plane by
the USSR. He also established thefirst UN peacekeeping force that had been proposed by Canadian Minister of
External Affairs, Lester B. Pearson.
See also: United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2006
Secretaries General serve for five-year terms that can be renewed indefinitely, although none so far has
held office for more than two terms.[4]The United Nations Charter provides for the Secretary-General to be
appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of theSecurity Council. As a result, the
selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent Members of the Security Council. While the
appointment and approval process of the Secretary-General is outlined in the UN Charter, specific
guidelines have emerged regarding the term limits and selection process. These include a limit to two
five-year terms, regional (continental) rotation of the appointee’s national origin, and the appointee may
not be a citizen of any of the Security Council’s five permanent members.
The United Nations Charter mentions the Secretary-General in Chapter XV, Articles 97 to 101. Article 97
gives the General Assembly the task of appointing the Secretary General. However, the candidate must
be proposed by the Security Council. This implies that any Permanent Member of the Security Council
could wield its veto in opposition of the recommendation. Most Secretaries-General are compromise
candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame. Despite the Charter giving the General
Assembly provisions to influence the selection process, the chosen Secretaries-General reflect that the
selection process remains in the control of the P5.
The Secretary-General is also the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. Article 98 further
states that the Secretary-General is further tasked with supervising the operations of the Security Council,
General Assembly (GA), and the Economic and Social Council and is to “perform other such functions as
are entrusted to him by these organizations” In short, this gives him or her the further responsibility of
presiding over the meetings of these organs of the UN. Also contained in Article 98 is the responsibility of

4. the Secretary-General to compile annual reports concerning the UN’s progress, to be presented to
the General Assembly.
The Secretary-General has the power to alert the GA and the Security Council of any event he or she
sees as a security issue for the international system (according to Article 99). The Secretary-General,
along with the Secretariat, is given the prerogative to exhibit no allegiance to any state but to only the
United Nations organization: decisions must be made without regard to the state of origin.
In the early 1960s, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev led an effort to abolish the Secretary-General
position. The numerical superiority of the Western powers combined with the one state, one vote system
meant that the Secretary-General would come from one of them, and would potentially be sympathetic
towards the West. Khrushchev proposed to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading
council (a "troika"): one member from the West, one from the Communist states, and one from the Non-
Aligned powers. This idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal.[5][6]