Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Annalena Baerbock elected president of UN General Assembly; vice-presidencies, seating order confirmed
Loading...
Summary
Delegates elected Annalena Baerbock of Germany president of the 80th United Nations General Assembly by a large margin. The assembly also drew lots to determine seating order and elected a slate of vice-presidents; the United States registered a point of order dissociating from Venezuela's selection.
Annalena Baerbock of Germany was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly's 80th session after delegates cast 188 valid ballots, the assembly announced. Baerbock received 167 votes to 7 for the other candidate; there were 14 abstentions. "Having obtained the required majority, Miss Annalena Baerbock of Germany has been elected president of the General Assembly at its eightieth session," the presiding officer said.
Baerbock, who served as Germany's federal minister for foreign affairs, thanked delegates and outlined priorities she said would guide her term. "I will serve all 193 member states as an honest broker and as a unifier," she said, and described her theme as "Better together." She told delegates she would emphasize upholding the United Nations Charter, promoting multilingualism and inclusiveness, and making the organization "fit for purpose" through reliable funding and improved efficiency.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Baerbock and expressed support for her stated priorities, calling "Better together" an "inspiring rallying cry" and underscoring the need to address conflicts, climate, poverty and institutional reform. Several regional groups spoke in support of the president-elect and urged attention to specific priorities: the representative of Gabon, speaking for the African Group, emphasized strengthening peacekeeping and attention to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda; the representative of the Asia-Pacific states underscored inclusiveness, transparency and impartiality; and the Western European and Others Group highlighted the need to invest in the United Nations on the occasion of its 80th anniversary.
As part of routine organization for the upcoming session, the secretary-general drew lots to determine which member state will occupy the first seat in the assembly hall at the 80th session; the name drawn was Niger. Delegations will follow in English alphabetical order for seating and in the main committees, the presiding officer said.
The assembly also declared elected a slate of vice-presidents whose candidacies matched the number of available seats in each regional group, avoiding secret-ballot voting. The states named to vice-presidencies for the 80th session included Andorra; Argentina; Bangladesh; Cabo Verde; China; Democratic Republic of the Congo; France; Kenya; Lebanon; Lesotho; Maldives; Montenegro; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Timor‑Leste; Tunisia; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; United States of America; and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
On a point of order following the announcement, the representative of the United States "dissociates from the reelection of Venezuela as the vice president of the eightieth session of the General Assembly" and stated that the United States does not recognize Nicolás Maduro and his representatives as the government of Venezuela, the delegate said.
The presiding officer reminded members that, in accordance with prior practice and relevant assembly resolution wording, the president-elect will take the oath of office at the moment of handing over the gavel in the final plenary meeting of the seventy-ninth session. The assembly then adjourned and said consecutive meetings of the six main committees would convene to elect chairs and bureaus for the eightieth session immediately following adjournment.
