Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-secretary-general is the third highest rank in the United Nations, after the secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general. The rank is held by the heads of different UN entities, certain high officials of the United Nations Secretariat, and high-level envoys. The United Nations regards the rank as equal to that of a cabinet minister of a member state, and under-secretaries-general have diplomatic immunity under the UN Charter.

Appointment and accountability
The majority of USGs are appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a fixed term of four years. Others (normally special envoys, Secretariat-appointees and non-programme management positions) are appointed directly by the UN secretary-general on his own authority. However, all USGs report to the General Assembly through the secretary-general. The only exception to this is the under-secretary-general for internal oversight services, who reports directly to the General Assembly.

The distinction in method of appointment is important as USGs appointed by the General Assembly have a mandate independent of the secretary-general, and he is therefore unable to remove them from office without the General Assembly's consent. This restriction has been seen by many commentators to weaken the secretary-general's ability to provide strong leadership and management within the United Nations System.

Equivalent rank
Some senior posts within the UN System have the equivalent rank of under-secretary-general but are either not entitled or choose not to use the formal title. The most prominent example of this is the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, who is often referred to as the third most senior official within the UN System yet does not use the title of under-secretary-general. The UN high commissioner for human rights also has the rank of under-secretary-general, yet does not use the title.

Diplomatic rank
USGs have diplomatic rank equivalent to that of a national cabinet minister. Under Article 105 of the United Nations Charter they have diplomatic immunity.

Senior Management Group (SMG)
With over 50 people with the rank of under-secretary-general, unsurprisingly the influence and power they wield within the UN System varies dramatically. The most important USGs, controlling budgets, programmes or key activities, are also members of the United Nations Senior Management Group, whose objective is to ensure strategic coherence and direction in the work of the organization. The cabinet was approved by the General Assembly in 1997 as part of the reform proposal submitted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

List of under-secretaries-general
The following is a list of under-secretaries-general or those with equivalent rank. This list is not exhaustive. Members of the SMG are indicated by an asterisk (*).

Programmes and commissions

 * Volker Türk * – High Commissioner, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
 * Jorge Moreira da Silva – Executive Director of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
 * Ghada Waly * – Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna and Chief Executive, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
 * Sima Sami Bahous* – Under-Secretary-General, executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
 * Winnie Byanyima – Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
 * Doreen Bogdan-Martin – Secretary-General International Telecommunication Union
 * Chaesub Lee – Director ITU-T
 * Rebeca Grynspan * – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
 * Tegegnework Gettu – Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
 * Achim Steiner * – Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), also chair of the United Nations Development Group
 * Claver Gatate * – Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
 * Olga Algayerova * – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
 * José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs * – United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)
 * Rola Dashti * – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
 * Armida Alisjahbana * – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
 * Natalia Kanem * – Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
 * Inger Andersen * – Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
 * Maimunah Mohd Sharif * – Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
 * Filippo Grandi * – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
 * Catherine M. Russell * – United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
 * Tshilidzi Marwala * – Rector, United Nations University (UNU)
 * Cindy McCain * – Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)

Secretariat officials

 * Rabab Fatima – High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS
 * Pramila Patten * – Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
 * Gilles Michaud * – Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security
 * Rosemary DiCarlo * – Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
 * Atul Khare – Under-Secretary-General for Department of Operational Support
 * Izumi Nakamitsu * – Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
 * Jean-Pierre Lacroix * – Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations
 * Alison Smale * – Under-Secretary-General for Public Information
 * Martin Griffiths * – Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
 * Augustine P. Mahiga * – Under-Secretary-General, Mediator-in-Residence, DPA's Mediator Debriefing and Lessons Learned Programme
 * Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti * – Under-Secretary-General, Chef de Cabinet
 * Fatoumata Ndiaye * – Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services
 * Tatiana Valovaya * – Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva
 * Catherine Pollard * – Under-Secretary-General Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance
 * Movses Abelian * – Under-Secretary-General Department for General Assembly and Conference Management
 * Melissa Fleming * – Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications
 * Carlos Gabriel Ruiz Massieu Aguirre – Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
 * Miguel de Serpa Soares * – Under-Secretary-General and Legal Counsel
 * Li Junhua * – Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
 * Virginia Gamba – Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
 * Zainab Hawa Bangura – Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi
 * Vladimir Voronkov * – Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism

Advisers

 * Bience Gawanas* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Africa
 * Alice Wairimu Nderitu* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide
 * Philippe Douste-Blazy – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Innovative Financing for Development
 * Paul Farmer* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for community-based medicine and lessons from Haiti
 * Kim Won-soo – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
 * Nicolas Michel* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Mediator in the border dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
 * George William Okoth-Obbo – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (since 2021)
 * Joseph Verner Reed, Jr. – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
 * Iqbal Riza* – Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
 * Jeffrey Sachs – Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals (2004–2006), Director of the United Nations Millennium Project
 * Espen Barth Eide* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus (2014–2017)
 * Vijay Nambiar* – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General (2012–2016)
 * Wilfried Lemke – Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace (2008–2016)

Special envoys

 * Gordon Brown* - Special Envoy for Global Education
 * Ray Chambers* - Special Envoy for Malaria
 * Michel Kazatchkine* - Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
 * Nicholas Haysom* - Under-Secretary-General, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan and South Sudan
 * Hanna Tetteh* - Under-Secretary-General, Head of United Nations Office to the African Union
 * Matthew Nimetz* - Under-Secretary-General, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Greece-FYROM Talks
 * J.V. Prasada Rao* - Special Envoy for AIDS in Asia & Pacific
 * Mary Robinson - Special Envoy on Climate Change
 * Terje Rød-Larsen* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559/2004
 * Jacques Rogge* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Youth Refugees and Sport
 * Christopher Ross* - Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara
 * Hiroute Guebre Sellassie* - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel
 * Mirko Manzoni - Under-Secretary-General, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Mozambique
 * Noeleen Heyzer - Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar

Deputy secretary-general
The deputy secretary-general is the second highest-ranking official in the UN System after the secretary-general. Amina Mohammed is the current office holder.

Assistant secretary-general
An assistant secretary-general sits beneath an under-secretary-general within the UN hierarchy. Assistant secretaries-general are often deputies within departments or programmes, reporting to their respective under-secretary-general and through him or her to the UN secretary-general.