1971 United Nations Secretary-General selection receiving assurances that the Chinese would continue to veto Waldheim. Bush also talked to Jakobson, who said that the Chinese would veto Waldheim "all the way through." In the third round of voting, Carlos Ortiz de Rozas moved into the lead with 12 votes but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Waldheim came in second with 11 votes but received no vetoes. To the surprise of the Americans and British, the Chinese abstained instead of vetoing Waldheim. As a result, Kurt Waldheim was selected as Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term beginning on 1 January 1972. The Austrian
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is the deputy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary-General, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programmes. The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria was named Deputy Secretary-General by then Secretary-General-designate António Guterres. Mohammed assumed the office the same day as Guterres began his term, on 1 January 2017. Responsibilities generally delegated by the Secretary-General to the