Miss Universe 1975

Miss Universe 1975 the 24th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 19 July 1975 at the National Gymnasium in San Salvador, El Salvador. Anne Marie Pohtamo won the title for Finland, thus making her the second Finnish woman to win the Miss Universe crown after Armi Kuusela, who was the first Miss Universe winner, in 1952. After Spain's Amparo Muñoz resigned the previous year, her successor was crowned by Miss Universe 1972, Kerry Anne Wells of Australia.

Miss Universe 1975
Date	19 July 1975
Presenters	Bob Barker
Venue	National Gymnasium, San Salvador, El Salvador
Broadcaster	CBS
Entrants	71
Placements	12
Debuts	Belize Mauritius Micronesia American Samoa
Withdrawals	Cyprus Honduras Portugal Senegal Suriname
Returns	Denmark Ecuador Guatemala Haiti Morocco Peru South Africa
Winner	Anne Marie Pohtamo  Finland
Congeniality	Christine Mary Jackson  Trinidad and Tobago
Best National Costume	Emy Elivia Abascal  Guatemala
Photogenic	Martha Echeverry  Colombia Summer Bartholomew  United States

The political backdrop to the 1975 Miss Universe pageant was not a happy one, however. According to the New York Times, August 5, "while a worldwide television audience saw El Salvador’s sunny beaches before the “Miss Universe” finals July 19, off-camera heavily armed troops were called out to halt demonstrations by students protesting the Government’s expenditure of $1-million on the contest". Protests took place in Santa Ana and San Salvador. Again, from the NY Times: "According to the military Government, which contended that the march was part of a “Communist plot”, one person was killed, five wounded, and 11 arrested. But according to the students, at least 12 persons were killed, 20 wounded, and 40 arrested".[1]

This year also marked the first time in the history that all five American territories had been competing together in the Miss Universe pageant along with Miss USA. However, Northern Mariana Islands competed as the geographical region of Micronesia instead of the individual territory itself, but just then, the territory began competing as Miss Northern Marianas a year later.