<P> The selection process is opaque and is often compared to a papal conclave . Since 1981, the Security Council has voted in secret in a series of straw polls . The Security Council then submits the winning candidate to the General Assembly for ratification . No candidate has ever been rejected by the General Assembly . In 2016, the General Assembly and the Security Council sought nominations and conducted public debates for the first time . However, the Security Council voted in private and followed the same process as previous selections, leading the President of the General Assembly to complain that it "does not live up to the expectations of the membership and the new standard of openness and transparency". </P> <P> The official residence of the Secretary - General is a townhouse at 3 Sutton Place, Manhattan, in New York City, United States . The townhouse was built for Anne Morgan in 1921, and donated to the United Nations in 1972 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> No </Th> <Th> Portrait </Th> <Th> Secretary - General (Born--Died) </Th> <Th> Dates in office </Th> <Th> Country of origin </Th> <Th> UN Regional Group </Th> <Th> Reason of withdrawal </Th> <Th> Ref . </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td>--</Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Gladwyn Jebb (1900--1996) </Td> <Td> 24 October 1945--1 February 1946 </Td> <Td> United Kingdom </Td> <Td> Western European & Others </Td> <Td> Served as Acting Secretary - General until Lie's election . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> After World War II, he served as Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations in August 1945, being appointed Acting United Nations Secretary - General from October 1945 to February 1946 until the appointment of the first Secretary - General, Trygve Lie . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Trygve Lie (1896--1968) </Td> <Td> 2 February 1946--10 November 1952 </Td> <Td> Norway </Td> <Td> Western European & Others </Td> <Td> Resigned . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Lie, a foreign minister and former labour leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post . After the UN involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Lie's reappointment in 1951 . The United States circumvented the Soviet Union's veto and recommended reappointment directly to the General Assembly . Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to 5, with eight abstentions . The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie, and he resigned in 1952 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Dag Hammarskjöld (1905--1961) </Td> <Td> 10 April 1953--18 September 1961 </Td> <Td> Sweden </Td> <Td> Western European & Others </Td> <Td> Died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), while on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> After a series of candidates were vetoed, Hammarskjöld emerged as an option that was acceptable to the Security Council . He was re-elected unanimously to a second term in 1957 . The Soviet Union was angered by Hammarskjöld's leadership of the UN during the Congo Crisis, and suggested that the position of Secretary - General be replaced by a troika, or three - man executive . Facing great opposition from the Western nations, the Soviet Union gave up on its suggestion . Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961 . U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman of our century". </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> U Thant (1909--1974) </Td> <Td> 30 November 1961--31 December 1971 </Td> <Td> Burma </Td> <Td> Asia - Pacific </Td> <Td> Declined to stand for a third election . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> In the process of replacing Hammarskjöld, the developing world insisted on a non-European and non-American Secretary - General . U Thant was nominated . However, due to opposition from the French (Thant had chaired a committee on Algerian independence) and the Arabs (Burma supported Israel), Thant was only appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term . He was the first Asian Secretary - General . The following year, on 30 November, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a new term ending on 3 November 1966 . He was re-elected on 2 December 1966, finally for a full 5 - year term, ending on 31 December 1971 . Thant did not seek a third election . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Kurt Waldheim (1918--2007) </Td> <Td> 1 January 1972--31 December 1981 </Td> <Td> Austria </Td> <Td> Western European & Others </Td> <Td> China vetoed his third term . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Waldheim launched a discreet but effective campaign to become the Secretary - General . Despite initial vetoes from China and the United Kingdom, in the third round, Waldheim was selected to become the new Secretary - General . In 1976, China initially blocked Waldheim's re-election, but it relented on the second ballot . In 1981, Waldheim's re-election for a third term was blocked by China, which vetoed his selection through 15 rounds . From 1986 to 1992, Waldheim served as President of Austria, making him the first former Secretary - General to rise to the position of head of state . In 1985, it was revealed that a post--World War II UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim as a suspected war criminal--based on his involvement with the army of Nazi Germany . The files had been stored in the UN archive . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (born 1920) </Td> <Td> 1 January 1982--31 December 1991 </Td> <Td> Peru </Td> <Td> Latin American & Caribbean </Td> <Td> Did not stand for a third term . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Pérez de Cuéllar was selected after a five - week deadlock between the re-election of Waldheim and China's candidate, Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania . Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian diplomat who a decade earlier had served as President of the UN Security Council during his time as Peruvian Ambassador to the UN, was a compromise candidate, and became the first and thus far only Secretary - General from the Americas . He was re-elected unanimously in 1986 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Boutros Boutros - Ghali (1922--2016) </Td> <Td> 1 January 1992--31 December 1996 </Td> <Td> Egypt </Td> <Td> African </Td> <Td> The United States vetoed his second term . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> The 102 - member Non-Aligned Movement insisted that the next Secretary - General come from Africa . With a majority in the General Assembly and the support of China, the Non-Aligned Movement had the votes necessary to block any unfavourable candidate . The Security Council conducted five anonymous straw polls--a first for the council--and Boutros - Ghali emerged with 11 votes on the fifth round . In 1996, the United States vetoed the re-appointment of Boutros - Ghali, claiming he had failed in implementing necessary reforms to the UN . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Kofi Annan (born 1938) </Td> <Td> 1 January 1997--31 December 2006 </Td> <Td> Ghana </Td> <Td> African </Td> <Td> Retired after two full terms . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> On 13 December 1996, the Security Council recommended Annan . He was confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly . He started his second term as Secretary - General on 1 January 2002 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Ban Ki - moon (born 1944) </Td> <Td> 1 January 2007--31 December 2016 </Td> <Td> South Korea </Td> <Td> Asia - Pacific </Td> <Td> Retired after two full terms . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Ban became the first East Asian to be selected as the Secretary - General and the second Asian overall after U Thant . He was unanimously elected to a second term by the General Assembly on 21 June 2011 . His second term began on 1 January 2012 . Prior to his selection, he was the Foreign Minister of South Korea from January 2004 to November 2006 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> António Guterres (born 1949) </Td> <Td> 1 January 2017--present </Td> <Td> Portugal </Td> <Td> Western European & Others </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> Guterres is the first former head of government to become Secretary - General, and the first Secretary - General born after the establishment of the United Nations . He was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 . He has also been President of Socialist International (1999--2005) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2005--2015). </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> No </Th> <Th> Portrait </Th> <Th> Secretary - General (Born--Died) </Th> <Th> Dates in office </Th> <Th> Country of origin </Th> <Th> UN Regional Group </Th> <Th> Reason of withdrawal </Th> <Th> Ref . </Th> </Tr>

How many un secretary generals have there been