Vladimir Petrovsky. After a distinguished career promoting liberal policies in the foreign ministry, Petrovsky served as Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He served as director-general of the UN Office in Geneva from 1993 until he retired in 2002. That office is the headquarters for the Conference on Disarmament, which unfortunately has been stalled in most of its operations because it can take a position only on the basis of consensus, which is hard to accomplish..See pp. 14, 65, 110, 114, 130,144, 159, 179.