>NATO's Secretary-General is its supreme commander in wartime >The UN's leader is called the Secretary General because he is in essence its Prime Minister Bot

>NATO's Secretary-General is its supreme commander in wartime >The UN's leader is called the Secretary General because he is in essence its Prime Minister Both are wrong and wildly imaginative. >General Secretary Joseph Stalin Yes, but there's also a historic reason behind that title. The leader (like Chairman Mao) of the Soviet Union was supposed to be a sort of secretary for the workers. "Soviet" actually means "council"; the "chairman" and "secretary" names are communist propagandaspeak to give the impression that the workers are the ones in charge.