United Nations Secretary-General Reflection

The concept that interested me most in class was the idea that the United Nations Secretary-General is viewed as a "scapegoat" role. That person is the one who takes the most blame when the UN does something it shouldn't, or doesn't do something it should. While he is only technically responsible for implementing decisions made by the member nations overall, the Secretary-General is forced to accept credit for the actions of the UN overall. This is unfair, but demonstrates the true leadership involved as holding that position in the United Nations.

Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali understands this unfortunate bonus to the role most of all. Although he had advance warning about the genocide in Rwanda, he had focused on other threats that he had been informed of. This does not make him a bad leader, as he had many warnings and had to make a decision as to which ones to pursue. They say hindsight is 20-20, which is very true in this case. Looking back, he would have encouraged the United Nations to take action in Rwanda. However, leaders cannot predict the future, and he did the best he could with the resources he had available to him. Boutros-Ghali is still the one who takes a large amount of blame for not responding effectively. 

His visionary leadership misled him, as this was not the situation for it.

In contrast, Kofi Annan focused on creating a different image. For example. he appeared on Sesame Street in order to win over the American families and improve recognition in a setting that wasn't political. He was much more of an optimist, and I think that reflected positively on the American people. By not being completely idealist, he was able to improve cooperation and build stronger coalitions. 

Both of these Secretary-Generals have faced incredible amounts of pressure and responsibility, while demonstrating strong leadership as the most authoritative figure in the most effective international organization.