When the Organization of African Unity was established in Addis Ababa, Telli was appointed the first Secretary General, holding that office for two terms from July 1964 until June 1972. The job was extremely challenging for him, as he expressed it involved negotiating a common viewpoint among the many leaders of African states, each of whom had divergent opinions. In an article published in the Fall of 1965, Telli acknowledged the difficulties and disputes but asserted that the organization had a flexible enough structure to deal with these problems, and asked what would have happened if there had been no OAU.