The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara (SRSG) is appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
| Name | Born-Died | Took office | Left office | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1926–2009 | 20 September 1988 | 19 January 1990 | Uruguay | ||
| 2 | 1939- | 19 January 1990 | 20 December 1991 | Switzerland | ||
| 3 | 1920– | 23 March 1992 | August 1995 | Pakistan | ||
| 4 | Erik Jensen (Acting) | August 1995 | February 1998 | Malaysia | ||
| 5 | 1937– | February 1998 | 31 March 1999 | United States | ||
| 6 | Robin Kinloch (Acting) | 1937 | 1 April 1999 | 18 May 1999 | United Kingdom | |
| 7 | 1926–2011 | 18 May 1999 | 1 December 2001 | United States | ||
| 8 | 1934– | 1 December 2001 | 1 July 2003 | United States | ||
| 9 | 1943– | 7 August 2003 | 5 August 2005 | Peru | ||
| 10 | 5 August 2005 | 31 August 2006 | Italy | |||
| 11 | 1942– | 5 February 2007 | 12 October 2009 | United Kingdom | ||
| 12 | 1946– | 12 October 2009 | 15 June 2012 | Egypt | ||
| 13 | 1955– | 15 June 2012 | 31 July 2014 | Germany | ||
| 14 | 1952– | 31 July 2014 | 22 November 2017 | Canada | ||
| 15 | 1961- | 1 December 2017[1] | 27 August 2021 | Canada | ||
| 16 | Alexander Ivanko[2] | 27 August 2021[3] | Russia |
At least two Special Representatives (Johannes Manz[4] and Francesco Bastagli[5]) had resigned from their post in protest against Moroccan political manoeuvres.