General Secretary

The office of general secretary (or first secretary) is staffed by the chief officer (sometimes also the leader) of:

• The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace
• Some church organizations, such as the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches
• Some political parties, especially Communist Parties
• Some trades unions, especially in the United Kingdom
• Consumer organizations, such as the National Consumers League

A similar title is secretary-general.

General Secretaries of Communist parties

The official title of the leader of most Communist parties is the "General Secretary of the Central Committee". When a Communist party is in power, the General Secretary is usually the country's de facto leader (though sometimes this leader also holds state-level positions to monopolize power, such as a presidency or premiership in order to constitute de jure leadership of the state).