1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection 1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1976 at the end of Kurt Waldheim's first term. After a single symbolic veto from China to show its support for a Secretary-General from the Third World, Waldheim easily defeated Luis Echeverría Álvarez in the balloting. The Security Council re-selected Kurt Waldheim as Secretary General for another five-year term beginning 1 January 1977. 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. As
2016 United Nations Secretary-General selection As a result, the selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. The Charter's minimal language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and accepted practices. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would be completing his second term on 31 December 2016, after which he would step down due to the informal two-term limit. Under the principle of regional rotation, candidates from Asia were ineligible to succeed Ban. The Eastern European Group was favored in the 2016 selection, as it was the only one of the United Nations Regional Groups never to have