UN General Assemby elects new President for 81st Session
Elected today by UN member states, current Bengali foreign minister Khalilur Rahman won a narrow victory against Cyprian candidate Andreas S. Kakouris.
United Nations, New York City
Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali
Winning the Presidency for the UN General Assembly’s 81st session, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman beat runner-up Andreas Kakouris.
In the ballot session, Mr. Rahman secured 99 votes to Mr. Kakouris’s 91.
The presidency rotates among the UN’s five regional groups, and the 81st session falls to the Asia-Pacific group. Mr. Rahman will serve a one-year term beginning on 8 September.
Mr. Rahman’s appointment was welcomed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters today that “the new President-Elect’s theme is an inspiring call to action for the multilateral system — ‘Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.’”
Dujarric added that Secretary-General Guterres, despite his expected departure in late 2026, said that “the Secretary-General looks very much forward to working with Mr. Rahman as the President of the General Assembly,” commending the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Bangladesh as a source of “pride” for his country.
