Discussion with USSR Representative to the UN on the UN Secretary General Race

In 1981 Dr. Salim ran as a candidate for the United Nations Secretary General to both succeed and challenge Kurt Waldehim, who was running for a third term. Throughout the year, Dr. Salim had to have multiple conversations and sessions with key stakeholders in order to know the country position and whether they would either support, reject or abstain from his candidacy. This is just a sample of those multiple conversations.

"The most positive outcome of this luncheon was to get a categorical denial from Ambassador Troyanovsky that the Soviets were working against my candidature. Another positive aspect (though negative in concept) was the confirmation of what we already know, namely that if it came to a matter of simple choice, one could depend on the Soviet Union preferring the continuation of the mandate of the incumbent." - Dr. Salim, October 21, 1980