NEW YORK, August 25. /Dunyo IA/. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman has been elected President of the UN General Assembly, succeeding former Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing “UN News.”

In the vote in New York, Khalilur Rahman received the support of 99 of the 190 General Assembly members. His opponent, Cyprus Special Envoy for Multilateralism Andreas Kakouris, received 91 votes.

“Having obtained the required majority, His Excellency Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh has been elected President of the General Assembly,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the 80^th session, said after the vote.

The Bangladeshi diplomat will take office in September with the start of the 81^st session of the General Assembly. His term will last one year.

The 72-year-old Khalilur Rahman began his diplomatic career in 1979. He worked at Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the UN, held senior positions in the UN Secretariat, served as an assistant to the president of the 41^st session of the General Assembly and also worked within the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

Khalilur Rahman became Bangladesh’s foreign minister following the elections in February this year.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated him on his election. He said the new president would take office at a time of serious global challenges, including armed conflicts, divisions between states, rising inequality and the climate crisis.

After completing her term as president of the 80^th session of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock is likely to become a professor at Columbia University in New York, according to DW. She has held the UN post since September 2025.

Photo by UN News