Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for a second term and received the support of 14 of the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council.

France eventually changed its veto to an abstention, and Kofi Annan of Ghana was selected Secretary-General for a term beginning 1 January 1997.

In the 1950 selection, Trygve Lie was vetoed by the Soviet Union, but he was re-appointed by the General Assembly without a recommendation from the Security Council.

[1] In the 1976 selection, Kurt Waldheim received a single symbolic veto from China, which turned around and voted for him in the second round.

U.S. ambassador Madeleine Albright criticized Boutros-Ghali for the failed raid, and U.S. president Bill Clinton announced that future U.S. peacekeepers "will be under American command."

The breaking point came over the Bosnian War, when Boutros-Ghali refused to allow British and French commanders to authorize airstrikes against Serb troops.

[3] Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for re-selection, as he enjoyed the support of every other member of the Security Council and was backed by the developing countries in the General Assembly.

[3] Supporters of Boutros-Ghali also hoped that China would fight a veto duel with the United States, as it had done in the deadlocked 1981 selection.

The United States had set the precedent by taking the 1950 selection directly to the General Assembly after the Soviet Union vetoed Trygve Lie's second term.

[5] Madeleine Albright, Richard Clarke, Michael Sheehan, and James Rubin entered a secret pact, which they called "Operation Orient Express."

An unnamed U.S. official warned in a United States Information Agency report that continued support for Boutros-Ghali would cost Africa its second term in the Secretary-General rotation.

[8] On 18 November 1996, the United Nations Security Council conducted a straw poll to gauge the level of support for Boutros-Ghali.

[9] On 20 November 1996, the Security Council met in closed session to consider draft resolution S/1996/952, appointing Boutros-Ghali for a second term.

Anticipating the U.S. veto, Security Council President Nugroho Wisnumurti of Indonesia laid down procedures on 12 November 1996 to be followed in case of an open selection.

Four African candidates were nominated to replace Boutros-Ghali: Amara Essy of Côte d'Ivoire, Kofi Annan of Ghana, Hamid Algabid of Niger, and Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah of Mauritania.

[18] With the General Assembly expecting to end its session on 17 December 1996, the Security Council had only one week to select a Secretary-General.

Despite the deadlock between the French-speaking and the English-speaking countries, diplomats believed that they had to find an African for the post because China would veto any non-African candidate.

The Security Council adopted Resolution 1090 by acclamation, recommending Kofi Annan to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.