An inside glimpse of the work of the Secretary-General

At my soulful request, Mr. Ferdinand Mayrhofer-Grunbuhel was extremely kind to grant an interview early this year to the Secretary of the Meditation Group, Ms. Gail Gershon. Here are his illumining insights into the Secretary-General’s life and work. [Mr. Ferdinand Mayrhofer-Grunbuhel’s association with the Secretary- General began when he served as Dr. Waldheim’s secretary when he was Austria’s Foreign Minister. Mr. Mayrhofer has been Special Assistant to the Secretary-General now for the last three years.]

Question: How has the role of the Secretary-General changed over the years since Dr. Waldheim took office, either due to his own initiative or to changes in the world in general?

Mr. Mayrhofer: To the extent that the world changes continuously and the United Nations changes and the problems change, I would say that certainly ever since the time he took office, the work or role of the Secretary-General has also changed. It is difficult to say how much or in what direction, but one thing, for example, is that when the Secretary-General took office in 1971, the whole question of the world economic situation was not yet so prominent on the UN agenda. You did not yet have the oil embargo, you did not yet have the energy crisis, you did not yet have economic difficulties. Also, in particular the Western countries today face unemployment and inflation and so forth. The Secretary-General himself has said several times that within his term of office much has changed in this regard and the United Nations is much more preoccupied with these economic matters. And he feels that this is one of the basic and most remarkable changes during his term of office, even to the extent that he might view himself as the Secretary-General who heralded this change — the shepherd under which this change took place. He has spoken repeatedly about this matter. One of his basic concepts is that we cannot expect political stability as long as there is no economic stability, as long as two-thirds of humanity live in conditions of serious poverty.

Question: Is there any one particular skill or ability that you have seen the Secretary-General develop since he took office or is there one quality that is perhaps most apparent in his work?

Mr. Mayrhofer: He has very much grown with his task — no question about that. He has always shown a particular interest in the work of the United Nations. Before he was Foreign Minister of Austria, he was Permanent Representative to the United Nations for many years and in Austria he was a UN man, very pro-UN, which is not always fashionable among politicians in western Europe.

To me his most remarkable characteristic is his activism, the fact that he has the remarkable gift — whenever a problem comes to his attention or is presented to him — of immediately thinking of some action to take in order to remedy the problem. Very often when people learn of a problem — it doesn’t have to be serious, it can be minor — they just accept it as it is and don’t do anything about it. This is a common attitude to which many people, including myself, very often succumb. This is for me the most remarkable trait in his character, that he immediately takes things up and sees how we can remedy them.

And the other quality is that he is really a diplomat in the very best sense of the word. He is the ideal mediator. I cannot think of anybody who is so ingenious in finding solutions when there are conflicting viewpoints, in finding a way out with diplomatic skill. He is very careful in any conflict or situation not to really say what he thinks, the reason being that as soon as you identify your own views, invariably they will be closer to one side, and the other side, the disadvantaged side, will probably reject you as a mediator. So as a mediator he has to hold back with his own views on certain matters. He is a very balanced man in the sense that he recognises that whenever there is a conflict, it rarely is the fault of only one side. He just receives the views from both sides and tries to establish what common ground there in fact is. There is always a common ground, even if it is only a formality, and he takes this and builds upon it and enlarges it and eventually finds some sort of agreement.

Question: Does the Secretary-General often discuss problems that arise in his work and the world situation with his assistants?

Mr. Mayrhofer: He thinks about problems a lot himself, but he also takes every opportunity to talk about them. Apparently, he feels that in a dialogue you can often better identify what the problem is. A dialogue about the matter often more clearly establishes the elements and possibilities. So he discusses these problems a lot with us. And he probably discusses problems of a sort of semipolitical nature, public relations matters, with his wife. He takes his wife as somebody who often represents the public view. He is quite informal in working with us. Once he gets to know people, he loses his reserve to a very great extent. We communicate a lot. If we have a problem we just walk into his room, depending on his schedule. But a certain relationship of confidence has to be established before it is possible or until it is possible.

Question: What on the whole sustains him in his job?

Mr. Mayrhofer: What sustains him is basically a belief that you have to be an activist — try to improve things — and also his religion. Also, he is rooted in his family. He has always had a good family life.

Question: In his recent book, Kurt Waldheim mentions that religion strengthened him morally and that traveling as Secretary-General helps him expand his religious horizons. Does he ever talk about his religion or is it more a quiet belief?

Mr. Mayrhofer: He has never denied or played down his religion in any way. He considers himself a practising Catholic and he thinks that this is an asset as far as providing a kind of moral support — which everybody I suppose needs. But on the other hand, he thinks that his religion does not limit his outlook on problems and on situations and he is very tolerant as far as other religions go. He does conceive of religion as a rather private matter which you should not try to further when you have a public office, except maybe through giving a good example. Normally he would keep apart the private matter of religion from his political life.

Question: Does the Secretary-General have any special humanitarian concerns?

Mr. Mayrhofer: There are two things which I should mention. One is the general suffering which is caused by war and especially personal suffering. In any war when people get killed or wounded there is a mother or wife or children — that is definitely one of his major concerns.

The other one is UNICEF and children, the suffering of children, including problems such as malnutrition.

Question: What is the biggest problem he faces right now?

Mr. Mayrhofer: It is difficult to say. If you have to single one out, I would say the North/South dialogue, which he thinks is fundamental to ensure a peaceful world. But there are of course the problems of South Africa and the Middle East and Cyprus.

Question: Do you see the future role of the Secretary-General as necessitating the same heavy travel schedule?

Mr. Mayrhofer: Travel is slowing down a bit. He has visited quite a few countries already. He thought it was important to visit countries and get acquainted or established in all the main places and with the main people. I think to a certain extent there is no need to travel as much as he has done in the past. Of course, he will always have to travel when he has to attend summit meetings and so forth.

Question: What is his relationship now with the press and media?

Mr. Mayrhofer: He is very much concerned about this matter, more than any other Secretary-General. The bad press which the United Nations has is mainly concentrated in the Western world, in established, developed countries. The UN has generally good press, but he is convinced that the support of the Western world is essential for the UN and therefore he tries to do everything he can to improve its image. He gives a lot of interviews and does a lot himself, which U Thant, I think, never did. He receives editors in news conferences and talks with them. He also gives many lectures. He must have received about thirty honorary degrees, doctorates. He has spoken at every one of these universities where he has been invited to receive a degree. Also, when he travels, he talks to people and gives press conferences. He also holds three major press conferences or meetings every year at Headquarters, and he holds other press conferences when it is necessary. In addition, there are weekly press conferences by his spokesmen, and through his spokesmen he says a lot of things.