Word: waldheim
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...Waldheim's election was the result of the nuanced realities of big-power politics. The U.S. plainly preferred Finland's energetic Max Jakobson, a former journalist and amateur historian who could give the U.N. the leadership that it lacked under the mercurial, vacillating U Thant. But Jakobson's strong qualities made him unacceptable to the Soviets who "know from experience what a tough Finn is like, and didn't want him," as a State Department official put it last week. The Soviets first tried unsuccessfully to persuade U Thant, who is suffering from a bleeding ulcer...
Early Lead. Since Waldheim was also entirely acceptable to Washington, he took an early lead in the intricate balloting devised for the occasion by the Security Council. In the first round, Jakobson was second, but was stymied by a Soviet veto on the grounds, said the Russians, that their Arab friends would object to the fact that he is Jewish (a contention that the Arabs privately denied). The Soviets also vetoed another contender strongly favored by Washington: Argentina's popular Carlos Ortiz de Rozas, who, like Jakobson, gave every promise of making the most of the job and moreover...
...vote, as it turned out, was that of the Chinese. Abandoning hope of electing an Asian or African, they voted for Jakobson, whose country had recognized the Peking government as early as 1950. But after two ballots, it became apparent that their vote against Waldheim could frustrate all efforts to come up with a common choice. With fresh instructions from Peking, Ambassador Huang Hua abstained on the next ballot. This was enough to put the Austrian over the top with eleven yes votes and only one undisclosed no-which did not come from a veto-wielding power. Next...
Back home in Vienna, no one was very much surprised that Waldheim had reached the peak of an admirably planned career. Son of a school inspector who changed the family name from Waclawik to the socially more acceptable Waldheim, he decided in high school to become a diplomat and set about acquiring the credentials, starting with studies at the Vienna Consular Academy and at Vienna University. During World War II, he fought with the German army on the Russian front until he was wounded in 1942 and sent home, where he completed his law degree. He joined the Austrian foreign...
Treading the Line. Given to dark vested suits and subdued maroon ties, Waldheim is the very model of a Continental diplomat. He is immensely skilled in treading the delicate line of Austrian neutrality, and is known as an unusually hard worker. He is also rather autocratic and hot-tempered, and runs his staff with an iron hand. His chief hobby: collecting early 19th century glass. Waldheim's family is picture-perfect for his new public role. His wife Elisabeth ("Sissy") is justly renowned as a diplomatic hostess. Daughter Liselotte, 26, is a pretty U.N. civil servant in Geneva...