1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection straw polls, an innovation that became the standard method for selecting a Secretary-General in future open selections. Waldheim's defeat also confirmed the informal two-term limit on the office of Secretary-General, and Pérez's selection firmly established the principle of regional rotation. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Therefore, candidates for the office can be vetoed by any of the permanent members. In 1981, Kurt Waldheim of Austria was finishing up his second term as Secretary-General, despite Chinese preferences for a Secretary-General from the Third World. In the 1971
United Nations Secretary-General selection plan to bypass the Security Council by having the General Assembly President carry out the duties of Secretary-General. After a week of negotiation, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on U Thant of Burma to take over Hammarskjöld's role. However, the two superpowers deadlocked for four weeks on how many Assistant Secretaries-General there would be, with the United States insisting on five, and the Soviet Union proposing three, four, six, or seven. The deadlock was finally broken when the superpowers agreed to let Thant decide for himself. Thant was unanimously selected Acting Secretary-General for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's