Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a title used by certain United Nations officials who are appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to deal with specific issues.
Examples include the SESGs on HIV/AIDS in Africa, on LRA-affected areas, on indigenous people, to a specific country, et cetera. George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, was chosen by the UN to serve as the Special Envoy for South Asia in December 2005. Others include Bill Clinton (a former president of the United States), who was named the Special Envoy for Haiti in 2009, and Gordon Brown (a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), who was named the Special Envoy for Global Education in July 2012. For much of 2012, Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, was Joint Special Envoy of 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: Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cayaubé (ESP), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to combat Islamophobia, appointed 7 May 2025. Julie Bishop (AUS), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, appointed 6 April 2024. Retno Marsudi (INA), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Water, appointed 13 September 2024. Hanna Tetteh (GHA), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, appointed 22 February 2022. Amandeep Singh Gill (IND), Acting Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Technology, appointed March 10 June 2022. Hans Grundberg (SWE), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, appointed 6 August 2021. Xia Huang (CHN), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, appointed April 2019. Geir Otto Pedersen (NOR), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, appointed 31 October 2018. Gordon Brown (GBR), Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Global Education, appointed 13 July 2012. Jayathma Wickramanayake (LKA), Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth. Personal Envoys Personal Envoys of the Secretary-General active include: María Angela Holguín Cuéllar (COL), Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, appointed 2 March 2025. Staffan de Mistura (ITA), Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, appointed 6 October 2021. (CHE), Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Mozambique, appointed 8 July 2019.
Former Special Envoys
The UN has appointed a number of Special Envoys, including: +Name(Former) TitleDate of AppointmentMark CarneyUnited Nations special envoy for climate action and financeMarch 2020Mahmoud MohieldinSpecial Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda4 February 2020Maria-Francesca SpatolisanoActing Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on TechnologyMarch 2019Christine Schraner BurgenerSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar28 April 2018Michael BloombergSpecial Envoy for Climate Action, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Cities and Climate Change 5 March 2018, 31 January 2014Martin GriffithsSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen16 February 2018Maria Soledad Cisternas ReyesSpecial Envoy on Disability and Accessibility20 June 2017Macharia Kamau and Mary RobinsonSpecial Envoys of the Secretary-General for El Niño and Climate20 May 2016Ismail Ould Cheikh AhmedSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen25 April 2015Said DjinnitSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Great Lakes Region 17 July 2014Staffan de MisturaSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria10 July 2014.Hiroute Guebre SellassieSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel30 April 2014Han Seung-sooSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Water19 December 2013Kofi AnnanJoint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League for Syria23 February 2012Haile MenkeriosSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan and South Sudan29 July 2011Bill ClintonSpecial Envoy for HaitiMay 2009George H. W. BushSpecial Envoy for South Asia30 December 2005Terje Rød-LarsenSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 15593 January 2005Virendra DayalSpecial Envoy of the Secretary-General for facilitating the Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa1992George C. MarshallSpecial Envoy for negotiating the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalists (Kuomintang) into a unified government1945
See also Special Representative of the Secretary-General Goodwill ambassador
References
External links United Nations – Field Operations