Secretary-General of the United Nations the appointee's national origin and to gender equality, although no woman has yet served as Secretary-General. The length of the term is discretionary, but all Secretaries-General since 1971 have been appointed to five-year terms. Every Secretary-General since 1961 has been re-selected for a second term, with the exception of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was vetoed by the United States in the 1996 selection. There is a term limit of two full terms, established when China cast a record 16 vetoes against Kurt Waldheim's third term in the 1981 selection. No Secretary-General since 1981 has attempted to secure a third term. The
United Nations Secretary-General selection went to Beijing to campaign for the position. The Chinese Foreign Minister switched to French in the middle of the interview to test Tharoor's ability to speak the language. Tharoor was the only Asian candidate who spoke French fluently, but he was vetoed by the United States. Ban Ki-moon took the precaution of attending French classes in the evenings so that he would not be vetoed by France. Gladwyn Jebb served as Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations in August 1945, being appointed Acting United Nations Secretary-General from October 1945 to February 1946. His successor, Trygve