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
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