A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a senior

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

official appointed by the

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

to deal with a set of specific issues. Examples include the SESGs on Children affected by Armed Conflict, on HIV/AIDS in Africa, on LRA-affected areas, on indigenous people, to a specific country etc. George H. W. Bush, the 41st

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, was chosen by the UN to serve as the Special Envoy to South Asia in December 2005. Others include

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, a former

, was named the Special Envoy to Haiti in 2009, and, in July 2012,

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

, a former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

, was named the special envoy on Global Education. For much of 2012

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

, the seventh

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

, was Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League for Syria. There are many other people of different backgrounds who serve the Secretary-General.

Current Special Envoys

Special Envoys of the Secretary-General (SESGs) active include: * Hans Grundberg (SWE), appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen on 6 August 2021 *

Noeleen Heyzer Noeleen Heyzer (born 26 April 1948) is a Singaporean social scientist, diplomat, and United Nations official. She is the current United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar, an office to which she was appointed by Secretary-General of the United Na ...

(SGP), appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar on 25 October 2021 * Geir Otto Pedersen (NOR), appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria on 31 October 2018 * Maria-Francesca Spatolisano (ITA), appointed Acting Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Technology in March 2019 *

Hanna Tetteh Hanna Serwaa Tetteh (born 31 May 1967) is a Ghanaian barrister and politician. She served in the cabinet of Ghana as Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She was also the Member o ...

(GHA), appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa on 22 February 2022 * Xia Huang (CHN), appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa in April 2019

Personal Envoys

Personal Envoys of the Secretary-General active include: *

Staffan de Mistura Staffan de Mistura (born 25 January 1947) is an Italian- Swedish diplomat, United Nations official and former member of the Italian government. After a 40-year career in various United Nations agencies, he was appointed Undersecretary of State f ...

(ITA), appointed Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara on 6 October 2021. De Mistura is tasked with "provid nggood offices on behalf of the Secretary-General… ndwork ngwith all relevant interlocutors, including the parties, neighbouring countries and other stakeholders, guided by Security Council resolution 2548 (2020) and other relevant resolutions." *

Mirko Manzoni Mirko (Cyrillic script: Мирко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. By Slavic etymology, the name is composed of the root ''mir'' (meaning peace) and hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' usual in South Slavic languages, which together m ...

(CHE), appointed Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Mozambique on 8 July 2019. Manzoni is tasked with "provid nggood offices support in facilitating the dialogue between the Government of Mozambique and

RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...

and towards the signing and subsequent implementation of a peace agreement between the parties."

Former Special Envoys

The UN has appointed a number of Special Envoys. *

served as Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League for Syria during 23 February to 31 August 2012 * Michael Bloomberg was appointed Special Envoy for Climate Action on 5 March 2018. Bloomberg was previously appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Cities and Climate Change on 31 January 2014 *

was appointed Special Envoy for Global Education in 2012 * George H. W. Bush was appointed the Special Envoy for

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

on 30 December 2005 * Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes was appointed the Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility on 20 June 2017 *

was appointed the Special Envoy for Haiti in May 2009 * Virendra Dayal was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for facilitating the

Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

in 1992 *

(ITA) was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria on 10 July 2014. * Said Djinnit was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to the

Great Lakes Region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

on 17 July 2014 * Martin Griffiths served as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen during 16 February 2018 to 19 July 2021 *

Hiroute Guebre Sellassie Hiroute Guebre Sellassie (born 1952) is an Ethiopian diplomat and human rights lawyer. She has held several senior portfolios in the United Nations, most recently serving as the Deputy Special Representative (DSRSG) for the Office for West Afri ...

was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel on 30 April 2014 *

Han Seung-soo Han Seung-soo (born 28 December 1936) is a South Korean politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 29 February 2008 to 28 September 2009. He was the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Specia ...

was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Water on 19 December 2013 * Macharia Kamau and

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

were appointed as Special Envoys of the Secretary-General for El Niño and Climate on 20 May 2016 *

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

was appointed the Special Envoy for negotiating the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

and the Nationalists (

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

) into a unified government in 1945 *

Haile Menkerios Haile Menkerios (born October 1, 1946) is an Eritrean diplomat who has served as the Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) and as Special Representative to the African Union, at the level of Under-Secretary-General from 20 ...

(ERI) was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

on 29 July 2011 * Mahmoud Mohieldin was appointed as the Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda on 4 February 2020 *

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed Ismaïl Ould Cheikh Ahmed ( ar, إسماعيل ولد الشيخ أحمد; born 9 November 1960, in Nouakchott) is a Mauritanian diplomat and politician. He served as a United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَ� ...

was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen on April 25, 2015. *

Terje Rød-Larsen Terje Rød-Larsen (born 22 November 1947) is a Norwegian diplomat, politician, and sociologist. Rød-Larsen came to wide international prominence as a key figure in the 1990s negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords—the first-ever agreement ...

was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Implementation of

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September 2004, after recalling resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (2004) on the situation in Lebanon, the Council supported free and fair presidential election ...

on 3 January 2005 * Christine Schraner Burgener served as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar during 28 April 2018 through October 2021

References

{{Reflist, 30em United Nations posts United Nations Secretariat *

Current Special Envoys

Personal Envoys

Former Special Envoys

See also

References