While the Charter of the United Nations describes the Secretary-General, in Article 97, as “the chief administrative officer of the Organization” it also empowers him, in Article 99, to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.” This article is seldom formally invoked – I myself have never found it necessary to use it – but it gives the Secretary-General a political responsibility, which makes him clearly more than a mere administrator. From its very origins, therefore, the office has had this dual character. And in more recent times the Secretary-General has come to be viewed by almost everyone as the organization's chief diplomatic and political agent.

The editor of the present volume should therefore be excused for an omission which he acknowledges in his introduction – the absence of any chapter focusing solely on the administrative responsibilities of the office. For better or worse, the role of the Secretary-General has come to be seen as primarily political. But even within that definition, distinct types of activity are expected of today's Secretary-General.

On the one hand there is his diplomatic role in the traditional sense, generally referred to as his “good offices”. In this role he acts as an impartial mediator, seeking to resolve disputes and prevent deadly conflict, which makes it essential that he maintain a good working relationship with all parties – and this in turn often obliges him to maintain complete discretion and avoid public comment, even when this involves resisting pressure, and perhaps his own inclination, to “take a stand”.