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Flag of the United Nations The United Nations Office at Geneva, a large neoclassical building with the words United Nations Nations Unies above the entrance, is flanked by rows of international flags. United Nations General Assembly United Nations headquarters in Midtown Manhattan United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a suit and tie, posing in front of a blue United Nations flag at UN Headquarters in New York City. Trygve Lie Dag Hammarskjold in 1954, seated and wearing a light-colored suit and striped tie, with hands clasped in front of him and looking to the left. U Thant, 1965 Kurt Waldheim Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
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United Nations secretaries-general

in

United Nations

Also known as: UN
Written by
Jacques Fomerand
Director, United Nations University, New York. Coauthor of Higher Education in Western Europe and North America: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography.
Jacques FomerandAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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‱History

The table provides a chronological list of the secretaries-general of the UN.

Secretaries-general of the United Nations
name country of origin period of service
*Acting secretary-general from Nov. 3, 1961.
Trygve Lie
 Trygve Lie Norway Feb. 1, 1946–April 10, 1953
Dag Hammarskjold in 1954, seated and wearing a light-colored suit and striped tie, with hands clasped in front of him and looking to the left.
 Dag Hammarskjöld Sweden April 10, 1953–Sept. 18, 1961
U Thant, 1965
 U Thant* Myanmar (Burma) Nov. 30, 1962–Dec. 31, 1971
Kurt Waldheim
 Kurt Waldheim Austria Jan. 1, 1972–Dec. 31, 1981
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
 Javier PĂ©rez de Cuellar Peru Jan. 1, 1982–Dec. 31, 1991
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
 Boutros Boutros-Ghali Egypt Jan. 1, 1992–Dec. 31, 1996
Kofi Annan
 Kofi Annan Ghana Jan. 1, 1997–Dec. 31, 2006
Ban Ki-moon, wearing a suit and blue tie, poses in front of a blurred United Nations emblem.
Ban Ki-Moon 		South Korea Jan. 1, 2007–Dec. 31, 2016
Antonio Guterres wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and brown patterned tie, speaking at a podium with a microphone.
 António Guterres Portugal Jan. 1, 2017–