The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the secretary-general, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programs.

[1] Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria was named as deputy secretary-general by then secretary-general-designate António Guterres.

[5] Canadian Louise Fréchette was the first deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, holding the position from 1998 to 2005.

In 2005, partly in response to criticism by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker for failed management of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme, Frechette announced her resignation.

[4] On 3 March 2006 it was announced that Mark Malloch Brown from the United Kingdom would succeed Louise Fréchette as deputy secretary-general on 1 April 2006.