Fonds AG-011 - United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) (1946-present)

The Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) was established initially in 1946 to assist the Secretary-General with relations with members and organs of the United Nations, and with specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations, as well as to assist with policy and coordination of the Secretariat. It was established shortly after the first Secretary-General of the United Nations took office following appointment by the General Assembly on 1 February 1946. The Executive Office of the Secretary-General "assists the Secretary-General in the performance of those functions which he does not delegate to the departments and for which he retains personal responsibility. These functions include consultation with governments and the heads of the specialized agencies and the supervision of special projects" (YUN, 1947-1948) It also aids in policy creation and implementation, coordinates the activities of the departments, publications and correspondence, and advises on UN protocol.

The following Secretariat bodies reported to the Secretary-General from the beginning: the Department of Security Council Affairs, the Department of Economic Affairs, the Department of Social Affairs, the Department of Trusteeship and Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories, the Department of Public Information, the Department of Legal Affairs, the Department of Conference and General Services, and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

From 1946 through the 1950s the EOSG was responsible for protocol and liaison with diplomatic representatives, as well as for relationships with non-governmental organizations, communications with member state representatives and related, and for the coordination and support of General Assembly activities.

The internal organization consisted of one or more Executive Assistants to the Secretary-General, the General Assembly Section, and the Protocol and Liaison Section. In 1972 the functions of the General Assembly Section moved to the Department for Political and General Assembly Affairs. As of 2012, the Executive Office consists of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, the Protocol and Liaison Service, the Global Compact Office, the Office of Information and Communication Technology, and the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The name of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General has stayed the same since 1946.

The following individuals have served as Secretary-General of the United Nations: Trygve Lie, (1946-1953), Dag Hammarskjold (1953-1961), U Thant (1961-1971), Kurt Waldheim (1972-1981), Javier Perez de Cuellar (1982-1991), Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996), Kofi Annan (1997-2005), and Ban Ki-moon (2006-present).

The Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General was Andrew W. Cordier from 1946-1961, followed by C. V. Narasimhan as the Under-Secretary for General Assembly Affairs and Chef de Cabinet from 1962-1972. He was succeeded by Ismat T. Kittani (Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General, 1973-1974). The next Under-Secretary-General, Chef de Cabinet was Rafeeuddin Ahmed (1975-1981), followed by Virendra Dayal (1982-1992), Jean-Claude Aime (1993-1996), Iqbal Syed Riza (1997-2004), Mark Malloch Brown (2005), Alicia Barcena Ibarra (2006), Vijay Nambiar (2006-2012), and Susana Malcorra (2012-present).