The founding moment of an intergovernmental organization (IGO) often concludes with a grand, symbolically significant ceremony where representatives of the founding member states sign the treaty one after the other. But what happens when this high-level event concludes? Once the cameras have turned off and the politicians head home, the task of setting up the new organization falls to its secretariat. In the beginning of an organization’s life, its executive head and the first staff members can exert considerable influence on the future shape of the organization. During these first few years, when rules and expectations are fluid and new situations without former precedent, it is left to them to interpret what the founding treaty means and to determine how its goals can be put into practice. This book examines one prominent example of how IGO founding treaties move from paper to practice – the establishment of the United Nations (UN) during the tenure of its first secretary-general, Trygve Lie (1946–53).

The UN today occupies an important position in international affairs as the central arena for states to come together to try to solve global problems. The secretary-general plays a key part in these processes. Although the UN Charter merely describes the secretary-general as the ‘chief administrative officer of the Organization’, today she is widely regarded as the UN’s chief diplomatic and political officer. Former secretary-general Kofi Annan wrote that ‘for better or worse, the role of the Secretary-General has come to be seen as primarily political’, while the UN website describes the secretary-general as ‘equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO’. The secretary-general today plays important roles in the UN apparatus for peace and security. She can serve as a mediator and provide ‘good offices’ or act as a ‘channel of communications’ to help solve conflicts between states. The secretary-general also performs important functions for the UN as an investigator who can establish fact-finding commissions and write reports, on her own initiative or at the request of the member states.