UN Secretaries-General - in pictures

  • Then-UN secretary general Trygve Lie, left, receives the deed for the property that will house the organisation's headquarters in New York. All photos: UN Photo
    Then-UN secretary general Trygve Lie, left, receives the deed for the property that will house the organisation's headquarters in New York. All photos: UN Photo
  • Trygve Lie, left, seen here in a meeting with Turkish leaders, backed UN intervention on the Korean Peninsula and was boycotted into resignation by the Soviet Union, while anti-communist purges hunted his staff from the American side.
    Trygve Lie, left, seen here in a meeting with Turkish leaders, backed UN intervention on the Korean Peninsula and was boycotted into resignation by the Soviet Union, while anti-communist purges hunted his staff from the American side.
  • A portrait of Dag Hammarskjold, who was secretary general from 1953 to 1961, inside the UN office.
    A portrait of Dag Hammarskjold, who was secretary general from 1953 to 1961, inside the UN office.
  • Dag Hammarskjold, seen here in Gaza spending Christmas with UN troops in December 1958, died on a contentious mission to war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
    Dag Hammarskjold, seen here in Gaza spending Christmas with UN troops in December 1958, died on a contentious mission to war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • U Thant, who took over as secretary general in 1961, was also known as another 'safe' compromise.
    U Thant, who took over as secretary general in 1961, was also known as another 'safe' compromise.
  • U Thant, who served until 1971, ran a discreet back-channel that gave Washington and Moscow their face-saving exit from the Cuban missile crisis.
    U Thant, who served until 1971, ran a discreet back-channel that gave Washington and Moscow their face-saving exit from the Cuban missile crisis.
  • When U Thant – seen here with then-Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman – pressed publicly for ending the Vietnam War, American warmth curdled into estrangement.
    When U Thant – seen here with then-Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman – pressed publicly for ending the Vietnam War, American warmth curdled into estrangement.
  • Kurt Waldheim, seen here during a trip to the Middle East, served two full terms as UN secretary general, from 1972 to 1981.
    Kurt Waldheim, seen here during a trip to the Middle East, served two full terms as UN secretary general, from 1972 to 1981.
  • Kurt Waldheim, seen here at Cairo Airport, had a Nazi past that was discovered much later, in the process disgracing the office retroactively.
    Kurt Waldheim, seen here at Cairo Airport, had a Nazi past that was discovered much later, in the process disgracing the office retroactively.
  • Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991, is remembered as well-contained, managing sensibly without enlarging the office’s role.
    Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991, is remembered as well-contained, managing sensibly without enlarging the office’s role.
  • Javier Perez de Cuellar, seen here in a meeting with Yasser Arafat, was known for his quiet space-creation for human rights.
    Javier Perez de Cuellar, seen here in a meeting with Yasser Arafat, was known for his quiet space-creation for human rights.
  • Boutros Boutros-Ghali, secretary general from 1992 to 1996, told inconvenient truths and championed UN preventive diplomacy.
    Boutros Boutros-Ghali, secretary general from 1992 to 1996, told inconvenient truths and championed UN preventive diplomacy.
  • Boutros Boutros-Ghali, seen in a meeting with Mother Teresa, was so outspoken that Washington vetoed his second term.
    Boutros Boutros-Ghali, seen in a meeting with Mother Teresa, was so outspoken that Washington vetoed his second term.
  • Kofi Annan, who served from 1997 to 2006, was initially popular with the UN Security Council’s western members for 'flexibility' in allowing Nato intervention in Bosnia.
    Kofi Annan, who served from 1997 to 2006, was initially popular with the UN Security Council’s western members for 'flexibility' in allowing Nato intervention in Bosnia.
  • Kofi Annan, dancing with a resident of Laayoune in Western Sahara, was personally castigated for UN failures over the Srebrenica and Rwanda genocides.
    Kofi Annan, dancing with a resident of Laayoune in Western Sahara, was personally castigated for UN failures over the Srebrenica and Rwanda genocides.
  • Ban Ki-moon, addressing a news conference in front of the damaged warehouse building of an UNRWA office in Gaza, was secretary general from 2007 to 2016.
    Ban Ki-moon, addressing a news conference in front of the damaged warehouse building of an UNRWA office in Gaza, was secretary general from 2007 to 2016.
  • Ban Ki-moon, standing among a group of children in Tripoli, Lebanon, was known for his climate activism.
    Ban Ki-moon, standing among a group of children in Tripoli, Lebanon, was known for his climate activism.
  • Antonio Guterres, the current UN Secretary General, will step down at the end of his second term later this year.
    Antonio Guterres, the current UN Secretary General, will step down at the end of his second term later this year.
  • Antonio Guterres, seen here in the outskirts of Kabul, has spent his second term absorbing many pressures – managing American funding cuts and hostility to multilateralism, and drawing sharp pushback from Washington over Gaza.
    Antonio Guterres, seen here in the outskirts of Kabul, has spent his second term absorbing many pressures – managing American funding cuts and hostility to multilateralism, and drawing sharp pushback from Washington over Gaza.