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
Secretary-General of the United Nations as a "world moderator", but the vague definition provided by the United Nations Charter left much room for interpretation. The Secretary-General is the "chief administrative officer" of the UN (Article 97) "in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, and shall perform other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs" (Article 98). They are also responsible for making an annual report to the General Assembly. They may notify the Security Council on matters which "in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and