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
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations the reform proposal submitted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The following is a list of Under-Secretaries-General or those with equivalent rank. This list is not exhaustive. Members of the SMG are indicated by an asterisk (*). The Deputy Secretary-General is the second highest-ranking official in the UN System after the Secretary-General. Amina Mohammed is the current office holder. An Assistant Secretary-General sits beneath an Under-Secretary-General within the UN hierarchy. Assistant Secretaries-General are often deputies within Departments or Programmes, reporting to their respective Under-Secretary-General and through him/her to the UN Secretary-General. Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations