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
United Nations Secretary-General selection United Nations Secretary-General selection United Nations Secretary-General selection is the process of selecting the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. To be selected as Secretary-General, a candidate must receive the votes of at least 9 members of the United Nations Security Council, with no vetoes from permanent members. The Secretary-General is then appointed by a majority vote of the United Nations General Assembly. Although the process is informally called an election, the United Nations refers to it as the "procedure of selecting and appointing the next United Nations Secretary-General." Since the General Assembly has never refused to appoint the person