The 1991 selection took place at a time of expectations for a "new world order," in which the United Nations would no longer be paralyzed by the superpower conflict of the Cold War.

The 1991 selection also established the principle of regional rotation of the Secretary-Generalship, as the Third World countries voted as a bloc to deny the office to any non-African candidate.

To break the impasse, Waldheim and Salim both suspended their candidacies, and Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was selected as the first Secretary-General from Latin America.

[4]: 411 As Javier Pérez de Cuéllar's second term drew to a close in 1991, the campaign for an African Secretary-General got underway.

Since the Non-Aligned Movement included a majority of the votes in the UN General Assembly, it could block any candidate recommended by the Security Council.

[6] The Soviet Union and France even considered extending Pérez's term for a couple of years, but he decided to retire.

Hans van den Broek of the Netherlands was the leading non-African candidate with 8 votes, one short of the number required for selection.

[14] After the final straw poll, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to recommend Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

The General Assembly appointed Boutros-Ghali by acclamation to be Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term ending on 31 December 1996.

After the other Security Council members failed to persuade the United States to change its position, the 1996 selection was thrown open to other candidates.