senior management group

Structure & Objectives

The Senior Management Group (SMG) is a committee of senior UN managers that serves as the Secretary-General's cabinet and the central policy planning body of the United Nations. Its objective is to ensure strategic coherence and direction in the work of the Organization. The cabinet was approved by the General Assembly in 1997 as part of the reform proposal submitted by the Secretary-General.

The SMG has enabled the United Nations to refine its leadership and management by allowing senior managers to plan together, share information, pool efforts, coordinate activities, avoid duplication, and work for common objectives. Video-conferencing enables senior officials from UN offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome and Vienna to take part in the cabinet meetings.

Current members

The Senior Management Group is chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and includes the following members:

Kiyotaka  Akasaka Public Information	Bader  Al-Dafa Economic & Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)	Alicia  Bárcena Ibarra Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Marek  Belka Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)	Radhika  Coomaraswamy Children and Armed Conflict	Antonio Maria Costa Director-General (UNOV), Executive Director (UNODC)
Francis  Deng Prevention of Genocide, Mass Atrocities	Kemal  Dervis UN Development Programme (UNDP)	Cheick Sidi Diarra Least Developed Countries, landlocked & small island developing States
Sergio de Queiroz Duarte Disarmament	Antonió Manuel de Oliveira Guterres UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)	Noeleen  Heyzer Economic & Social Commission for Asia & Pacific (ESCAP)
John  Holmes Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator	Abdoulie  Janneh Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)	Angela  Kane Management
Alain  Le Roy Peacekeeping Operations	Jane Holl Lute Peacebuilding Support	Susana  Malcorra Department of Field Support
Rachel  Mayanja Gender Issues and Advancement of Women	Vijay  Nambiar Chef de Cabinet	Patricia  O’Brien Legal Affairs
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid UN Population Fund (UNFPA)	Sergei  Ordzhonikidze UN Office at Geneva	Robert C. Orr Policy Planning
Supachai  Panitchpakdi UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)	B. Lynn Pascoe Political Affairs	Muhammad  Shaaban General Assembly Affairs & Conference Management
Josette  Sheeran World Food Programme (WFP)	Choi  Soon-hong InformationTechnology	Achim  Steiner UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)	Ann M. Veneman UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)	David  Veness Safety and Security
Sha  Zukang Economic and Social Affairs	Inga-Britt  Ahlenius Observer Internal Oversight Services (Reports directly to the General Assembly, not the Secretary-General)