Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Kurt Waldheim, 2000
| Creator: | Waldheim, Kurt | Project: | United Nations intellectual history project (UNIHP).
(see all project interviews) | Phys. Desc. : | sound file : digital preservation master, WAV files (96 kHz, 24 bit) | | Location: | Columbia Center for Oral History | | Full CLIO record >> |
Biographical NoteUN Secretary-General (1971-1981); Austria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations; Austria's Foreign Minister to the United Nations
Scope and ContentsEarly years: graduate of Diplomatic Academy in Vienna; Career: 1948 Secretary of the Austrian Assembly in Paris; 1952-1956 chief of personnel in the ministry; 1955 appointment as permanent observer to the United Nations; 1971-1981 UN Secretary-General; international relations professor at Georgetown; chairman and president of Interaction Council; Themes: influence of McCarthyism on UN; decolonization, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the UN; group 77; implementation of internal security protocols at the UN; mediations and negotiations in Middle East; election process as UN Secretary-General; interests of wealthy versus poor countries; power politics, idealism, and realism; The New International Economic Order; role and duties of a Secretary-General; Israeli attack on UN Naquora headquarters in Lebanon; media attack of UN; human rights, environment, habitat, and population as international concerns; UN's moral impact; growing power of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); lack of support for UN international civil service; UN peacekeeping operations; Chinese veto for third-term candidacy as secretary-general; accusations of war crimes and involvement in Nazi organizations; power of the US in international affairs; emergency military force; efficacy of the UN in military engagements
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