1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection Echeverría. China voted for Echeverría and cast a symbolic veto against Waldheim to demonstrate its support for a Third World candidate. The Soviet Union voted against Echeverría, and the other three permanent members abstained. The Security Council immediately conducted a second round of voting. China dropped its veto and voted for Waldheim, giving him a winning tally of 14-0-1. Echeverría received only 3 votes in favor. As a result, Kurt Waldheim was selected Secretary-General for a second five-year term beginning on 1 January 1977. 1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1976 at the
United Nations Secretary-General selection unhappy with Hammarskjöld's handling of the Congo Crisis, which broke out in 1960. The Soviets pushed him to resign, suggesting that the Secretary-General be replaced by a troika, or three-man executive. The Western nations opposed this move, and the Soviets dropped the idea. Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961. Hammarskjöld's death created a succession crisis at the United Nations, as the UN Charter had no provision for succession to the office of Secretary-General. The Soviet Union pushed for a troika, while the United States and the United Kingdom came up with a