Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG) is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.

The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who took office on 1 January 2007. His first term expired on 31 December 2011. He was re-elected, unopposed, to a second term on 21 June 2011. His successor will be appointed by the General Assembly in 2016.

Role

The Secretary-General was envisioned by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator", but the vague definition provided by the UN Charter left much room for interpretation by those who would later inhabit the position. According to the UN website, their roles are further defined as "diplomat and advocate, civil servant, and CEO". Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out and playing important roles on global issues to various degrees. Article 97 under Chapter XV of the UN Charter states that the Secretary-General shall be the "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, but does not dictate their specific obligations.

United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

During the Second World War, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated talks on a successor agency to the League of Nations, and the United Nations Charter was drafted at a conference in April–June 1945; this charter took effect 24 October 1945, and the UN began operation. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo, as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947. The organization's membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.

United Nations (band)

United Nations is a screamo supergroup whose roots go back to at least 2005. They consider "screamo power-violence" as their main influence.

History

Formation and early recording sessions (2005–2008)

United Nations was started by Geoff Rickly, the vocalist/lyricist of the band Thursday. Other artists initially involved in the project possibly included Daryl Palumbo, vocalist of Glassjaw and Head Automatica, and Ben Koller, drummer for Converge. However, all members except for Rickly were under contracts with other record labels and were not legally permitted to work in projects released by another label, making it difficult for the official lineup to be well known. Since Rickly is the only member whose primary band is currently not under contract, his name is the only one that can legally appear in press materials. Press photos of the band released in 2008 depict four people wearing Ronald Reagan masks.

The idea of the side project can be traced back to the early 2000s, but it was not until 2008 that United Nations took shape. In 2008, the band recorded enough material for two studio albums, two extended plays, and one parody album that would be released at some point. The band was uncertain if these would be the only releases by the band, or if the band will regroup to record more songs.

United Nations (disambiguation)

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945.

United Nations may also refer to:

See also