December 10, 1981 (Thursday)
- Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru was nominated as the fifth Secretary General of the United Nations by the U.N. Security Council, approved his nomination 10-1, with four abstentions. Perez had been the only one of seven candidates whose application had not been vetoed by at least one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. On the first 18 ballots, incumbent Kurt Waldheim of Austria, was repeatedly vetoed by China in his bid for a third five-year term, while Tanzanian Foreign Minister Salim Salim was blocked by U.S. vetoes. Sadruddin Aga Khan was runner up to Perez, but a 9-2 vote in his favor included one veto among the no votes. The General Assembly approved Perez by acclamation the next day.
- Spain was accepted as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after signing the Protocol of Accession in Brussels.
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Famous quotes containing the word december:
“Work—work—work,
In the dull December light,
And work—work—work,
When the weather is warm and bright—
While underneath the eaves
The brooding swallows cling
As if to show me their sunny backs
And twit me with the spring.”
—Thomas Hood (1799–1845)