What is the rank of the Secretary-General of the United Nations?

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat. According to the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is recommended by the Security Council and designated by the UN General Assembly. He is the "executive head" of this agency (UN Charter). He is responsible for the work of the Secretariat and brings to the Security Council any matters that he believes may threaten the peace and security of the country. Pay attention to and carry out "other duties" entrusted by the Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly and other major institutions.

In front of countries around the world, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is often seen as a symbol of the United Nations, and he also uses this identity to mediate between parties in disputes. The term of the United Nations Secretary-General is five years and may be reappointed. The Secretary-General may appoint several deputy secretaries-general to assist him in his work based on work needs. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is often regarded as the "General Manager of the World."

At the end of 2016, the term of the current United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ended. On January 1, 2017, the new Secretary-General of the United Nations took office, with a term of five years.

According to the United Nations Charter, after the Security Council nominates a new candidate for the United Nations Secretary-General, it will elect the new United Nations Secretary-General through the certification process of the United Nations General Assembly.

The selection of the United Nations Secretary-General follows this process: first, before the current Secretary-General leaves office, each candidate country first notifies all countries in the world of the candidate, and then based on the notification list, after a selection process by the five permanent members, After discussion within the United Nations Security Council and approval, it will then be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly, where all United Nations member states will vote unanimously. The person with the most votes will be elected as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Here, there is also a conventional rule that the candidate for the Secretary-General is rotated across continents every ten years and can be re-elected. In the past, the selection of secretary-general basically followed this process. However, in the 2007 election of the Secretary-General, this move was challenged: according to convention, the next Secretary-General should be an Asian, but some countries led by the United States have put forward new ideas. But in the end, after consultation and compromise by the countries concerned, they decided to abide by tradition and elect Ban Ki-moon, a Korean from Asia, as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The United Nations Secretary-General also has an unwritten rule that the five permanent members (China, the United States, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom) are not allowed to participate in the competition for United Nations Secretary-General.

Responsibilities

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is both a diplomat and a spokesperson, a civil servant and a CEO. As a symbol of the ideals of the United Nations, the Secretary-General serves people all over the world, especially the poor. Speak up for the vulnerable.

According to the Charter of the United Nations, the Secretary-General is the "Chief Administrator" of the United Nations. He performs the duties of the Chief Executive and "the tasks entrusted to him by the Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other United Nations organizations." Other duties". The Charter also stipulates that the Secretary-General has the power to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any incident that in his opinion may threaten international peace and security.” These programmatic principles clearly define the authority of this position and give it great freedom of action. If the Secretary-General does not care about the interests of member states, he is incompetent. But he must maintain the values ??and moral authority of the United Nations, and everything he says and does must be from a peaceful perspective. To this end, he may even often offend the above-mentioned member states.

One of the most important roles of the United Nations Secretary-General is to exert his "active functions" and take measures publicly or privately to prevent the occurrence, intensification and intensification of international disputes based on the principles of independence, impartiality and integrity. spread.

Each Secretary-General will determine his own work priorities during his term of office based on the prevailing situation. According to the United Nations Charter, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is appointed by the United Nations General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.