Max Jakobson, Henry Kissinger and the United Nations Secretary-General election 1971
Abstract
This article discusses the 1971 UN Secretary-General election from the perspective of Max Jakobson of Finland and the United States. Its purpose is to research the extent to which the United States supported Jakobson and how the decisive decisions arose. The main sources are the US online archives and collections. The article notes that the State Department supported Jakobson while Henry Kissinger considered Jakobson too independent for the US foreign policy interest. Additionally, Finnish officials played the elections in a way that did not fit into the Finnish foreign policy principles that emphasized compromises and cooperation. This eventually damaged Jakobson's campaign and his chances of getting elected was limited as the UN Security Council vote approached. However, the definite upset for Jakobson was the timing that caused the United States to agree to the Soviet proposal for a secret ballot. The final choices of the United States were greatly influenced by the war that broke out between India and Pakistan, which was a White House priority. At the crucial moments of the election Kissinger’s main efforts were to keep the Soviet Union in favour of a declaration of a truce. This aim was not compatible with supporting Jakobson, who was opposed by the Soviets.
Keyword: the United Nations, the Cold War, foreign
policy, Finland, the United States
