UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Slates”
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs (Wainhouse) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Sandifer)
- Subject:
- Presidency of Eighth Session of General Assembly
I suggest that a UNA meeting be called soon to consider our position regarding the Eighth General Assembly Presidency.
Briefly, the situation is this. Prince Wan has been a candidate since last fall. On June 14, the Thai Ambassador called on Mr. Landon and, under instructions from Prince Wan, asked whether the latter could count on our support. The Ambassador indicated that Prince Wan assumed he could. Mr. Landon said the matter would be referred to UNA.
In May Azkoul of the Lebanese Delegation called on Mr. Ross and informally asked for his personal views as to whether Dr. Malik should enter the race. Mr. Ross was non-committal and asked the Department for advice. Pending further consideration in the Department, we have suggested that he not seek to influence Malik one way or the other.
So far as we know there are no other candidates. The Belgian Ambassador indicated last fall that the Western Europeans might make a bid for the Presidency but in view of the difficulty of electing a NATO country following Pearson, we doubt they will try this year. [Page 456] It is, of course, possible that a Latin American candidacy will develop and Cordier was apprehensive last month about this possibility.
FE would like to make a commitment to Prince Wan now. NEA opposes this, at least as long as Dr. Malik is considering entering the race, and some in NEA believe we should encourage Malik’s candidacy in order to demonstrate by concrete action our interest in the Near East.
Both Prince Wan and Dr. Malik would do an excellent job, and from the standpoint of geographic distribution the time is ripe for a President from either the Far East or the Middle East. However, Prince Wan’s long interest in the post, his expectation that we will support him, plus the psychological advantage of electing an individual from the Far East, all seem to be in Prince Wan’s favor. Furthermore, it would appear desirable to avoid the difficult situation which would result if both Dr. Malik and Prince Wan become strong contenders and we are forced to make a choice between them. For these reasons we are inclined to believe we should give the nod to Prince Wan’s candidacy now, without, however, irrevocably committing ourselves, and at the same time should indicate to Dr. Malik, before he becomes a strong contender, that we may support Prince Wan.
We might tell Prince Wan that we believe he would make an excellent President and look most favorably upon his candidacy, but that our final decision would, of course, depend upon the amount of support he obtains from other Members. We could tell Dr. Malik that, as he well knows, we have the highest regard for him, that we believe he would make an excellent President and that his decision whether to run must be his own. However, in all fairness, we must point out that Prince Wan is a definite candidate, that he has been interested in the post for some time, that he has recently asked for our support, and that naturally we have to take into account his long interest in the Presidency. We would go on to say, however, that our final decision on any candidate would, of course, depend in large part upon the degree of support obtained.