How and why was Vienna chosen as a United Nations headquarters?
Vienna is one of the four main duty stations of the United Nations, the others being New York, Geneva and Nairobi. At the invitation of the Government of Austria, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization established their headquarters in Vienna in 1957 and 1967, respectively. In the 1970s, the Government provided a permanent residence for those two organizations: the Vienna International Centre (VIC), which was officially opened on 23 August 1979. To make full use of the new facility, other United Nations units were transferred from New York and Geneva to Vienna. Many of them were consolidated in the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), which was established on 1 January 1980.
