1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection Soviet Union would not veto their candidate and said that the U.S. and U.K. had "let them down" by not vetoing Waldheim. The French were "furious" when the Finns accused them of vetoing Jakobson in the first round, as they had actually abstained. 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
United Nations Secretary-General selection rounds of voting as China vetoed Waldheim and the United States voted against Salim. The Security Council finally settled on a dark horse candidate who stayed home and did not campaign. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was selected for a term beginning on 1 January 1982, becoming the first Secretary-General from Latin America. The 1981 selection set many precedents. The system of straw polls, which broke the deadlock, was adopted for future selections. China's 16 vetoes of Waldheim confirmed the two-term limit and established the principle of regional rotation. In 1986, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was drafted to serve another term