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
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Special Envoy of the Secretary-General A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issues. Examples include the SESGs on Children affected by Armed Conflict, on HIV/AIDS in Africa, on LRA-affected areas, on indigenous people, to a specific country etc. Bill Clinton, a former president of the United States, was named the special envoy to Haiti in 2009, and for much of 2012 Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, was Joint Special Representative for the United Nations and the Arab