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
Seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly Seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly The Seventy-first Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 13 September 2016. The President of the United Nations General Assembly is from the Asia-Pacific Group. Fijian Ambassador Peter Thomson was chosen over Cypriot Andreas Mavroyiannis to preside over the assembly in a year that includes the election of a new secretary-general of the United Nations. Fiji's Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola that the country sought a platform to achieve sustainable development that would be called the Triennial UN Conferences on Oceans and Seas. As is tradition during each session of