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secretary-general
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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 Boutros Boutros-Ghali Kofi Annan Ban Ki-moon, wearing a suit and blue tie, poses in front of a blurred United Nations emblem. Guterres, António
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secretary-general

UN
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History

secretary-general, the principal administrative officer of the United Nations. See Secretariat.

The table provides a historical list of UN secretaries-general.

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 Hammarskjöld, 1954.
 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
Ban Ki-Moon 		South Korea Jan. 1, 2007–Dec. 31, 2016
Guterres, AntĂłnio
 António Guterres Portugal Jan. 1, 2017–