Khalilur elected UNGA president

Published : Tuesday, 2 June, 2026 at 9:22 PM Count : 50

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman has been elected President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the 81st session, competing against Cyprus.

In the ballot, 190 votes were cast, with Bangladesh receiving 99 votes and Cyprus receiving 91 votes.

Ambassador Andreas S. Kakouris, Cyprus' candidate for the UNGA Presidency, brought over four decades of diplomatic and administrative experience in multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, as well as at headquarters.

The voting to this prestigious post was held at 10am (NY Time) in the General Assembly Hall, UNHQs on Tuesday.

The outcome of the election was announced around 9pm (Dhaka time) on Tuesday, following the completion of vote counting.

The election was held in line with Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure.

In accordance with the established regional rotation, the President of the 81st session of the General Assembly was elected from the Asia Pacific Group.

Bangladesh last held the prestigious position in 1986-87, when then Foreign Minister Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury was elected President of the 41st General Assembly.

Four decades later, the country sought to reclaim the post and succeeded.

The 81st session of the UNGA will open on September 8, 2026, with the high-level General Debate commencing on September 22.

The position changes every year and rotates among the five regional groups of the UN (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and Others).

The President is elected directly by the member states in the UNGA, with each country having one vote.

On June 2, 2025, former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock was elected President of the General Assembly’s 80th session.

She assumed the role at a challenging time, with ongoing conflicts, faltering development goals, mounting financial pressures, and the upcoming selection of the next Secretary-General.

Baerbock received 167 votes following the secret ballot. Fourteen delegations abstained.

Those who follow foreign affairs have been informally discussing whether Dr Khalilur would step down from his current responsibilities as Bangladesh's Foreign Minister to serve full-time at the UN, or attempt to carry out both roles simultaneously.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur, however, made it clear during the informal interactive dialogue at the UN on May 13 that resignation is not the only option.

“Will I resign? No, my Prime Minister (Tarique Rahman) has told me very clearly that he's going to let me off for one year to do a full-time job. Resignation is not the only option. I can get a leave,” said Dr Khalilur while responding to a question during the informal dialogue.

There have been instances in the past where foreign ministers simultaneously served as President of the United Nations General Assembly while retaining their ministerial portfolios.

For example, Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives concurrently served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs while serving as President of the 76th session of the UNGA in 2021.

FP/MI