Peruvian Factor

A dark horse breaks deadlock

The contest carried much of the suspense and intrigue of a papal election. After 16 ballots in five weeks, the United Nations Security Council was locked in a stalemate over the selection of a Secretary-General for the five-year term that begins Jan. 1. The People's Republic of China had repeatedly vetoed the incumbent, Kurt Waldheim of Austria, 62, who was vying for an unprecedented third term. Just as consistently, the U.S. had nixed his challenger, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Salim Ahmed Salim, 39. Last week, even though there was no puff of white smoke billowing from the 39-story marble-and-glass tower on New York City's East River, the deadlock was broken.

With surprising ease, the 15-member Security Council recommended the appointment of Javier Perez de Cuellar, 61, a Peruvian diplomat virtually unknown outside diplomatic circles. The 157-member General Assembly is expected to ratify the choice this week.

The turning point came on Dec. 3, when Waldheim withdrew his name. He was apparently acknowledging that no number of ballots could overcome China's stubborn opposition to a man not from the Third World. Salim, opposed by the U.S. for his occasionally strident anti-American rhetoric, followed suit five days later. That left the field open for a stable of dark horses. The first straw poll, conducted behind the closed doors of the Security Council's chambers, gave the necessary minimum of nine votes to Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, 48, a Harvard-educated Iranian citizen who was the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees from 1965 to 1977. But there was one hitch: his detractors included Soviet Ambassador Oleg Troyanovsky, who, because he represents one of the council's five permanent members, was entitled to veto any candidate. This he did, considering Sadruddin too pro-Western. That opened the way for the runner-up, Perez, who had won eight votes in the straw poll. In the official secret ballot held Friday he received ten votes, including that of the U.S. "I feel free again," said a gracious Waldheim after the decision. "They have chosen a very good man."

The outgoing Secretary-General was in a position to know. Perez, a diplomat since 1944, served as Peruvian Ambassador to Switzerland and to the Soviet Union before first heading his country's delegation to the U.N. in 1971. Waldheim has entrusted Perez with a number of delicate missions. In 1975, he became the Secretary-General's special representative in strife-torn Cyprus. Four years later, Waldheim appointed Perez Under Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs. Most recently, he represented Waldheim in an effort to solve the ticklish issue raised by the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan. In that assignment, which produced no concrete result, Perez exercised the discretion that no doubt won him the Soviet Union's endorsement.

Colleagues describe Perez as likable and unpretentious, though lacking in dynamism. In other words, he possesses the very qualities that major powers generally seek in a Secretary-General. "Perez is a very decent chap," says Under Secretary-General Brian Urquhart, a Briton who has worked closely with him. Perez is often compared to U Thant, the quiet, self-effacing Burmese who served in the U.N.'s highest office from 1961 to 1971. Unlike Waldheim, the Peruvian does not have a reputation as a workaholic. Still, diplomats welcome his familiarity with the international organization's long and often byzantine corridors. "He is a very good diplomat who knows the U.N. from the inside," says Urquhart. Even though Sadruddin was the first choice of the U.S. delegation, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick described Perez as a "strong candidate" who had "shown imagination in problem solving." She added: "I am delighted to have a Secretary-General from a state which is a neighbor and with which we feel very close and friendly."

Unlike other candidates who were in New York lobbying for the job, Perez stayed in Lima, the Peruvian capital, during the vote. After hearing news of his selection, he said, "My main concern and endeavor will be what it has always been, peace among nations." Given Perez's age, U.N. officials do not expect him to seek a second term. That should be a welcome consolation prize for the other candidates, especially Salim. The Tanzanian, who will be only 44 when the next vote comes up, no doubt still hopes to be the first African to enjoy the view from the spacious office on the U.N.'s 38th floor.

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