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 | Héctor Gros Espiell | 1926–2009 | 20 September 1988 | 19 January 1990 | Uruguay |
| 2 | Johannes J. Manz | 1939- | 19 January 1990 | 20 December 1991 | Switzerland |
| 3 | Sahabzada Yaqub Khan | 1920– | 23 March 1992 | August 1995 | Pakistan |
| 4 | Erik Jensen (Acting) | August 1995 | February 1998 | Malaysia | |
| 5 | Charles Franklin Dunbar | 1937– | February 1998 | 31 March 1999 | United States |
| 6 | Robin Kinloch (Acting) | 1937 | 1 April 1999 | 18 May 1999 | United Kingdom |
| 7 | William L. Eagleton | 1926–2011 | 18 May 1999 | 1 December 2001 | United States |
| 8 | William L. Swing | 1934– | 1 December 2001 | 1 July 2003 | United States |
| 9 | Alvaro de Soto | 1943– | 7 August 2003 | 5 August 2005 | Peru |
| 10 | Francesco Bastagli | 5 August 2005 | 31 August 2006 | Italy | |
| 11 | Julian Harston | 1942– | 5 February 2007 | 12 October 2009 | United Kingdom |
| 12 | Hany Abdel-Aziz | 1946– | 12 October 2009 | 15 June 2012 | Egypt |
| 13 | Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber | 1955– | 15 June 2012 | 31 July 2014 | Germany |
| 14 | Kim Bolduc | 1952– | 31 July 2014 | 22 November 2017 | Canada |
| 15 | Colin Stewart | 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.