Description
Read this first. Dag Hammarskjold from Sweden was the second secretary-general of the UN (1953-1961). Just as the U.S. president has tensions with Congress over foreign policy, the secretary-general sometimes has tensions with the Security Council. But the secretary-general is chosen by the Security Council and has less autonomy than the U.S. president. When the secretary-general asks for authority for a peacekeeping mission for six months, the Security Council is likely to say "three months." If the secretary-general asks for ten milllin dollars, he might get five. Thus the secretary-general remains, like the entire UN system, constrained by state sovereignty.
Dag Hammarskjold (SWEDEN)Fifty Years of United Nations Publishing Activities
United Nations Secretaries-General