1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection Pérez de Cuéllar for a second term as Secretary-General. Although Pérez received only "hints" of financial support for the U.N., he felt obligated to accept his selection. "To decline in such circumstances would have been tantamount to abandoning a moral duty toward the United Nations," he said in his acceptance speech. 1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1981. Kurt Waldheim ran for an unprecedented third full term as Secretary-General, losing to Salim Ahmed Salim by one vote. However, the selection deadlocked through 16 rounds of voting as China vetoed Waldheim and the United
United Nations Secretary-General selection recommended by the Security Council, it is the selection of the Security Council that determines the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. Few formal rules govern the selection of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The only guiding text, Article 97 of the United Nations Charter, states "The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." The Charter's minimal language has since been supplemented by other procedural rules and accepted practices. In 1946, the General Assembly adopted a resolution stating it was "desirable for the Security Council to proffer one candidate only for