» Who is the current Secretary-General of the UN?
» How is the Secretary-General appointed?
» Who are the past Secretaries-General of the UN?
» What is the term of the Secretary-General?
» How do I contact the Secretary-General of the UN?

Who is the Current Secretary-General?

His Excellency, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

» Biography

How is the Secretary-General appointed?

The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Council.

Who are the Past Secretaries-General?

» Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-1952)
» Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden (1953-1961)
» U Thant of Burma, now Myanmar, (1961-1971)
» Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1971-1981)
» Javiér Pérez de Cuellar of Peru (1981-1991)
» Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt (1991-1996)
» Kofi Annan of Ghana (1996-2006)
» Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea (2007-ongoing)

What is the Term of the Secretary-General?

The Secretary-General's term is five years. Although there is technically no limit to the number of five-year terms a Secretary-General may serve, none so far has held office for more than two terms. The current Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon will complete his first term in office in December 2011.

Official UN Secretary-General site