"The UN Secretary-General?s good offices on Myanmar, now in their twentieth year, have been one of the longest such diplomatic efforts in the history of the organization. With Myanmar now in the midst of major political, economic, and social reforms, and questions invariably being raised about the future of those ?offices,? it is an opportune time to revisit the history and achievements of the past twenty years of mediation efforts... This 100+-page report tells the story of UN mediation efforts in Myanmar through the lens of four special envoys: Alvaro de Soto, Razali Ismail, Ibrahim Gambari, and Vijay Nambiar. It examines the various strategies and achievements over the past 20 years and provides lessons for Myanmar and, more broadly, for the Secretary-General?s good offices in other regions of the world. The report argues that the conditions for success or failure lie in the readiness of the parties for conflict resolution, the scope of the mandate, the clarity of objectives, the impartiality of the mediator, and the presence or absence of strong leadership from the Secretary-General himself. ...This study has chronicled and narrated the UN?s good offices effort in Myanmar as told through the lens of those most involved. It is largely limited to the UN side of the story and in no way pretends to be a comprehensive or definitive history of the mediation effort in Myanmar. While limited in scope, the recurring themes, various approaches tested, and shortcomings observed do allow some important conclusions to be made and lessons to be drawn. The following analysis refers primarily to the time prior to the transfer of power from the SPDC to a quasi-civilian government in March 2011 and the start of the reforms that followed. The final section then takes a brief look at the status of the good offices in August 2012, sixteen months into Myanmar?s democratic transition and the options going forward..."