1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection 1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1981. Kurt Waldheim ran for an unprecedented third full term as Secretary-General, losing to Salim Ahmed Salim by one vote. However, the selection deadlocked through 16 rounds of voting as China vetoed Waldheim and the United States voted against Salim. The Security Council finally settled on a dark horse candidate who stayed home and did not campaign. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was selected for a term beginning on 1 January 1982, becoming the first Secretary-General from Latin America. The deadlock was finally broken by a system of
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is the deputy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary-General, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programmes. The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria was named Deputy Secretary-General by then Secretary-General-designate António Guterres. Mohammed assumed the office the same day as Guterres began his term, on 1 January 2017. Responsibilities generally delegated by the Secretary-General to the