Economic Commission for Europe

The ECE has been founded on 28 March 1947 by the Social and Economic Council in order to assist in the economic reconstruction of Europe and in the strengthening of the economic relations of the European countries both among themselves and with other countries of the world.
The Executive Secretary of ECE reported on all substantive matters to the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at Headquarters. He addressed the Director of the UNOG on all administrative matters. (Secretary General's Bulletin SGB/82 dated 1 July 1948)
The relations between the Executive Secretary of ECE , for instance, and the Director of the European Office lacked of clearness because of the definition and the nature of the relations, and the absence of precise status. A survey group studied the merging in a single post of the functions of Executive Secretary of ECE and Director of the European Office, the holder of the post being would have been assisted by two deputies charged respectively with ECE matters and with administration. Finally the Secretary-General decided to keep both posts.

In 1959, the Secretariat consisted of :

• the Office of the Executive Secretary
• the Commission Affairs and Trade Development Division
• the Energy Division
• the Research and Planning Division
• the Steel, Engineering and Housing Division
• the Transport Division
• the Agriculture Division
• the Timber Division

In 1962, the Technical Assistance Office in Geneva was transferred to the Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Europe (ST/SGB/124/Amend.2 23 April 1962).

The Statistics Branch of the Research and Planning Division was established as a separate Statistical Division on 1 January 1967 with the following functions:

• services the Conference of European Statisticians and its subsidiary bodies; and (jointly with the concerned Division) the statistical working parties which operate under the joint sponsorship of the Conference and of an ECE Committee;
• maintains liaison with national statistical offices, the Statistical Office of the UN and the Statistical Division of other Regional Economic Commissions and of other international organizations;
• advises the ES on all aspects of the statistical work of ECE;
• collects the data for, and prepares for publication, the statistical bulletins;
• supplies the other ECE Divisions with the general economic, social, demographic and other statistics needed for their studies;
• advises all units of ECE Secretariat on statistical sources and methodology, cooperating in their statistical work;
• conducts statistical projects in technical assistance.
  (ST/SGB/131/Amend.5 dated 19 April 1967)