Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is set to become the president of the UN General Assembly. She is unopposed in the election to be held at the plenary session of the assembly on Monday, according to a report by German media outlet Deutsche Welle. The report says she will hold the position for the next one year.
The position of president of the General Assembly is largely ceremonial. The post of UN Secretary-General is considered the most important. Currently, Antonio Guterres is serving as Secretary-General.
The 44-year-old Green Party politician said in a speech to the General Assembly in May that if elected, she wants to be a “builder of unity” and “serve all 193 member states, large and small.”
She said her priorities will be gender equality, climate protection and the UN’s sustainable development goals.
Baerbock is expected to officially take office on September 9. A German has only been elected president of the UN General Assembly once before. During the Cold War, West German diplomat and journalist Büdiger von Weschmer served as President of the General Assembly in 1980–1981.