Translated with AI
German diplomat and former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been elected President of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. She is the fifth woman to hold this post in history and the first from the European region. 167 countries voted for Baerbock, the press service of the Organization reports.
The second candidate for the post of President of the General Assembly was diplomat Helga Schmidt, also from Germany, who received seven votes. A total of 188 countries voted, 14 abstained.
"I will serve all 193 [UN] Member States as an honest broker and as a unifier. As President of the General Assembly, I will engage in a trusting dialogue with all Member States. My door will always be open to all," Baerbock said in her remarks after the vote.
“As only the fifth woman to hold this position in 80 years, I am fully aware that peace and development can only be sustainable when half the world’s population – women – participate in decision-making on an equal basis [with men],” she added.
Baerbock also stressed that humanity is going through difficult times, balancing “on the edge of uncertainty.”
“But the birth of the United Nations 80 years ago reminds us: We have been through tough times before. And we can solve the problems that exist. We may come from different regions, have different backgrounds. We may see the world differently. And we may sometimes even disagree. But when we come together at the UN, we are all united by this common vision and the founding principles of the UN,” she said.
Baerbock will take office in September 2025, when the new session of the General Assembly opens. The head of the UN thanked the President of the current, 79th session, Philemon Young, for his work, noting that his attention was focused on the most important global problems. The Secretary-General also called Young "the voice of Africa."
Before Baerbock, four women held the position: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India (1953), Angie Brooks of Liberia (1969), Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of Bahrain (2006), and María Fernando Espinosa Garcés of Ecuador (2018).
