Secretary-General of the United Nations the appointee's national origin and to gender equality, although no woman has yet served as Secretary-General. The length of the term is discretionary, but all Secretaries-General since 1971 have been appointed to five-year terms. Every Secretary-General since 1961 has been re-selected for a second term, with the exception of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was vetoed by the United States in the 1996 selection. There is a term limit of two full terms, established when China cast a record 16 vetoes against Kurt Waldheim's third term in the 1981 selection. No Secretary-General since 1981 has attempted to secure a third term. The
United Nations Secretary-General selection In November 1952, Trygve Lie announced his resignation. The Soviet Union had vetoed Lie's re-selection in 1950, and it considered the General Assembly's extension of his term in 1950 to be illegitimate. Since then, the Soviet Union had ignored Lie, addressing all communications to "The Secretariat" rather than the Secretary-General. With negotiations for a Korean Armistice Agreement in progress, Lie felt that a new Secretary-General could restore a working relationship with the Soviet Union. Both superpowers experienced a change of government during the selection, with Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration in January 1953 and Joseph Stalin's death in March 1953. The United