{"id":33059,"date":"2026-06-04T16:06:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=33059"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:06:36","slug":"bangladeshs-top-diplomat-elected-un-general-assembly-leader-in-tight-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=33059","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh\u2019s top diplomat elected UN General Assembly leader in tight race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Khalilur Rahman was elected as the president of the UNGA\u2019s 81st session, garnering 99 votes in a secret ballot.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ap_6a204f7515185-1780502389.jpg?resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, the newly-elected president of the United Nations General Assembly, addresses a plenary meeting of body at UN headquarters [Eskinder Debebe\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>Bangladesh\u2019s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly after defeating Cyprus\u2019s Ambassador Andreas Kakouris in a closely contested vote, taking the helm of the world\u2019s most representative diplomatic body at a time of mounting pressure on the multilateral system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the secret ballot held on Tuesday, Rahman secured 99 votes, eight more than his competitor Kakouris. A total of 190 ballots were cast, with no invalid votes or abstentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The presidency rotates among the UN\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His presidency will coincide with one of the most consequential processes on the UN calendar: the selection of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres\u2019s successor, whose term expires at the end of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rahman served as national security adviser and high representative on the Rohingya issue before becoming Bangladesh\u2019s foreign minister in February when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won in the country\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/13\/bangladesh-election-results-2026-who-won-who-lost-whats-next\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first election<\/a>&nbsp;since a student-led uprising ousted longtime leader Sheikh Hasina in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A career diplomat, he joined Bangladesh\u2019s foreign service in 1979. He also held senior UN positions in New York and Geneva, according to UN News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe UN will commence its ninth decade at a time when trust in our organisation is being tested on multiple fronts,\u201d he told diplomats assembled at the UNGA as he accepted the new role. \u201cTaken together, these challenges tend to undermine the public trust and confidence in the ability of our organisation to deliver its promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outgoing UNGA President Annalena Baerbock, Germany\u2019s foreign minister, highlighted how trust in multilateralism is under growing strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UN is facing \u201cnot only headwinds, but immense pressure\u201d, with consensus increasingly difficult to achieve and the defence of the UN Charter becoming \u201ca daily necessity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe role of the president of the General Assembly is no longer simply procedural,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forum for key global topics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The General Assembly is the UN\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coming session will open on September 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reference Link:- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/3\/bangladeshs-rahman-elected-un-general-assembly-president-in-tight-race\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/3\/bangladeshs-rahman-elected-un-general-assembly-president-in-tight-race<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Khalilur Rahman was elected as the president of the UNGA\u2019s 81st session, garnering 99 votes in a secret ballot. Bangladesh\u2019s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly after defeating Cyprus\u2019s Ambassador Andreas Kakouris in a closely contested vote, taking the helm of the world\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[9715,30074,30072,30075,1149,1449,30076],"class_list":["post-33059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-bangladesh-2","tag-honor-for-bangladesh","tag-khalilur-rahman","tag-senior-bangladeshi-diplomat","tag-un-2","tag-unga-2","tag-voting-by-secret-ballot","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33061,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33059\/revisions\/33061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}