Who Leads the United Nations?
Delivered October 16, 2007 The title of this lecture is an interesting starting point for a discussion. I think the answer differs depending on who you ask. My answer would be that no one "leads" the U.N. Certainly, the Secretary-General does not lead the organization. Not even former Secretary-General Kofi Annan--described as a "secular pope" and the "conscience of the world" by his admirers--was able to force the organization in a direction it was unwilling to go. Current Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is unlikely to be more successful than Annan.