Five people have held the post of secretary-general.
With their countries of origin and terms of office, they are:
Trygve Lie, Norway (1946-1952)
Dag HarnmarskjOld, Sweden (1953-1961)
U Thant, Burma (1961-1971)
Kurt Waldheim, Austria (1972-1981)
Javier Perez de Cuellar, Peru (1982–present)