Bangladesh’s top diplomat elected UN General Assembly leader in tight race

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly after defeating Cyprus’s Ambassador Andreas Kakouris in a closely contested vote, taking the helm of the world’s most representative diplomatic body at a time of mounting pressure on the multilateral system.

In the secret ballot held on Tuesday, Rahman secured 99 votes, eight more compared with his competitor Kakouris. A total of 190 ballots were cast, with no invalid votes or abstentions.

The presidency rotates among the UN’s five regional groups, and the 81st session falls to the Asia Pacific group. Rahman will serve a one-year term starting on September 8, the UN said.

His presidency will coincide with one of the most consequential processes on the UN calendar: the selection of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s successor, whose term expires at the end of this year.

Rahman served as national security adviser and high representative on the Rohingya issue before becoming Bangladesh’s foreign minister in February when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won in the country’s first election since a student-led uprising ousted longtime leader Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

A career diplomat, he joined Bangladesh’s foreign service in 1979. He also held senior UN positions in New York and Geneva, according to UN News.

“The UN will commence its ninth decade at a time when trust in our organisation is being tested on multiple fronts,” he told diplomats assembled at the UNGA as he accepted the new role. “Taken together, these challenges tend to undermine the public trust and confidence in the ability of our organisation to deliver its promises.”

Outgoing UNGA President Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, highlighted how trust towards multilateralism is under growing strain.

The UN is facing “not only headwinds, but immense pressure”, with consensus increasingly difficult to achieve and defence of the UN Charter becoming “a daily necessity”.

“The role of the president of the General Assembly is no longer simply procedural,” she said.

Forum for key global topics

The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, bringing together all 193 Member States, each with one vote. Its annual gathering in September in New York is the only UN forum where world leaders of all countries, small and large, can speak.

While its resolutions are generally not legally binding, the body serves as the principal forum for international deliberation on key topics, from security to human rights, reflecting global opinion.

The UNGA also makes key decisions for the UN, including appointing the secretary-general on the recommendation of the UN Security Council, electing the non-permanent members of the UNSC and approving the UN budget.