1996 United Nations Secretary-General selection a term beginning 1 January 1997. The 1996 selection marks the only time that a sitting Secretary-General was denied a second term. The elderly Boutros-Ghali initially intended to serve only one term, but he ran for a second term in 1996. Traditionally, the Secretary-General is entitled to run unopposed for a second term. No sitting Secretary-General had ever been denied a second term by a veto. In the 1950 selection, Trygve Lie was vetoed by the Soviet Union, but he was re-appointed by the General Assembly without a recommendation from the Security Council. In the 1976 selection, Kurt Waldheim received
2016 United Nations Secretary-General selection wrote a joint letter to all member states, encouraging them to nominate female candidates as well as men. Equality Now launched a campaign to elect a female Secretary-General with the title "Time for a Woman: United Nations—it’s been over 70 years, elect a female Secretary-General" Many female candidates were nominated in 2016, more than in any previous selection. Historically, the process of selecting a Secretary-General has been so secretive that it has been compared to a papal conclave. Diplomats advanced their own candidacies by lobbying members of the Security Council. Straw polls were taken by secret ballot in the Security