1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection 1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1971 to succeed U Thant, who was stepping down after two full terms. Three candidates received enough votes in the Security Council to be selected Secretary-General: Carlos Ortiz de Rozas of Argentina, Kurt Waldheim of Austria, and Max Jakobson of Finland. However, all of the frontrunners were vetoed in the first two rounds of voting. In the third round, Waldheim accidentally escaped a triple-veto when three permanent members failed to coordinate their votes and all abstained. As a result, Kurt Waldheim was selected Secretary-General of the United
2016 United Nations Secretary-General selection in Security Council Resolution 2311. On 13 October 2016, the seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly ratified the Security Council's choice by acclamation, formally appointing Guterres as the next Secretary-General for a five-year term beginning on 1 January 2017. 2016 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in October 2016 to choose the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations to succeed Ban Ki-moon from 1 January 2017. Six straw polls were held in the Security Council from 21 July 2016 to 5 October 2016. António Guterres of Portugal led the polling in every round,