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 ballot in 1971, and he stepped down when his last term in office ran out on 31 December 1971. Concerns about his health proved well-founded, as Thant died of cancer on 25 November 1974. 1961 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1961 to replace Dag Hammarskjöld after he was killed in a plane crash. After initial Soviet attempts to replace the Secretary-General with a troika, it was agreed that an Acting Secretary-General would be appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. Within two weeks, U Thant of Burma emerged as the only candidate who