United Nations Secretary-General selection of the race, but Kurt Waldheim of Austria won the most votes in the first round. Carlos Ortiz de Rozas of Argentina also passed the 9-vote threshold in the second round. However, China vetoed Waldheim, and the Soviet Union vetoed Jakobson and Ortiz. Prior to the third round, the U.S. and UK delegations received instructions to prevent Waldheim from being selected, but they decided to abstain and rely on the Chinese veto. To their surprise, China switched its veto to an abstention. Kurt Waldheim received no vetoes and was selected Secretary-General for a term starting on 1 January 1972. Kurt
1961 United Nations Secretary-General selection peacekeeping mission. On 18 September 1961, Hammarskjöld flew to Ndola in Northern Rhodesia to meet with rebel leader Moïse Tshombe of the State of Katanga. After circling the airfield twice, the airplane crashed, killing Hammarskjöld and all but one of the other occupants. The airplane crash set off a succession crisis at the United Nations, as Hammarskjöld's death required the Security Council to vote on a successor. The Soviet Union had been pushing to replace the Secretary-General with a troika, the three men to be named by each of the Three Worlds of the Cold War. The Soviets recommended that