 Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly, he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.Due to Boutros-Ghali's overthrow, a second Annan term would give Africa the office of Secretary-General for three consecutive terms.In 2001, the Asia-Pacific Group agreed to support Annan for a second term in return for the African Group's support for an Asian Secretary-General in the 2006 selection.