Kurt Waldheim

Waldheim, Kurt (1918– ), Austrian diplomat and minister of foreign affairs (1968–70), and secretary general of the United Nations (1972–81). As secretary general he worked to strengthen the UN's peacekeeping role and to increase aid to poor countries. In 1986 he was elected to the Austrian presidency, up to 1992, in spite of his history as a German intelligence soldier and Nazi officer (World War II).

See also: Austria; United Nations.