The Secretary General of the Council of Europe (French: Secrétaire général du Conseil de l'Europe) is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly from a shortlist proposed by the Committee of Ministers for a term of five years.

The secretary general is entrusted with the responsibility of meeting the aim for which the Council of Europe was set up in London on 5 May 1949, namely to achieve greater unity between its Member States for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress.

Although the Secretary General's powers are not clearly defined, in practice the holder has overall responsibility for the strategic management of the Council of Europe's work programme and budget and oversees the day-to-day running of the Organisation and Secretariat.

[citation needed] Coincidentally, both candidates were Prime Ministers at the same time (1996–1997) and both are social democrats.

[1] The Parliamentary Assembly was angered by the decision of the Committee of Ministers to remove two of the four candidates from the shortlist: Belgian senator Luc Van den Brande and Hungarian parliamentarian Mátyás Eörsi, who are both members of the Parliamentary Assembly.