1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection 1976 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1976 at the end of Kurt Waldheim's first term. After a single symbolic veto from China to show its support for a Secretary-General from the Third World, Waldheim easily defeated Luis Echeverría Álvarez in the balloting. The Security Council re-selected Kurt Waldheim as Secretary General for another five-year term beginning 1 January 1977. 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. As
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