Global Policy Forum

1972 - 1981

On the recommendation of the Security Council, the General Assembly elected Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as Secretary General in December 1971. During his first five-year term, Waldheim arranged discussions in Cyprus between government leaders from Greece and Turkey, and he initiated talks that brought an end to the Israel-Arab war in 1973. With his neutral diplomacy, Waldheim gained the support of both the Soviet Union and the US. In 1976, Palestinian militants hijacked an airplane leaving Tel Aviv, resulting in a hostage crisis at the airport in Kampala, Uganda. Waldheim called the Israeli Defense Forces' rescue mission a "serious violation of the national sovereignty," and both the United States and Israel criticized him for his position. In his second five-year period as Secretary General, Waldheim had to deal with several international crises, such as the war in Afghanistan, the conflict between Iran and Iraq and Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. In 1981, Waldheim sought an unprecedented third term as Secretary General with the support of both the US and the Soviet Union. However, China vetoed his reelection. After Waldheim stepped down, his reputation was tarnished by reports that he had been an officer in the Balkans during the Nazi occupation.

Disgraced UN Chief and Nazi War Criminal Waldheim, Dies Aged 88 (June 15, 2007)
In this article, journalist Robert Fisk exposes Kurt Waldheim's criminal past. Waldheim, former UN Secretary General and President of Austria, served as an intelligence officer for the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was located at Banja Luka in Yugoslavia where mass murders of Jews, Serbs and Communists took place. Waldheim always claimed that he didn't know about the killings and even wrote a book attempting to prove his innocence. (Belfast Telegraph)

Kurt Waldheim, Former UN Chief, Is Dead at 88 (June 15, 2007)
As UN Secretary General from 1972 to 1982, Kurt Waldheim concealed the incriminating parts of his military career. But a few years later when Waldheim was running for president of Austria, documents emerged which proved both his involvement with the Nazi movement and his role as a lieutenant in an army unit responsible for the execution of thousands of Yugoslavs. Waldheim, who passed away in 2007, always denied his guilt, arguing that he was "an ordinary citizen who had been caught up in a maelstrom." (New York Times)