Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir was elected unopposed as the President of the 75th UN General Assembly in September 2020. Bozkir’s candidature was endorsed from among the Western European and other States.
Volkan Bozkir received 178 votes in his favour, as 11 nations abstained from voting. The voting was conducted through secret ballot.
After his election, Volkan Bozkir tweeted saying, “I am thankful to all UN member states, for electing me with an overwhelming majority, as the President of the 75th UN General Assembly.”
1) I am thankful to all UN member states, for electing me with an overwhelming majority,as the President of the 75th UN General Assembly. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the UN, I will guide the efforts to contribute to international peace, in the challenging times we live in. pic.twitter.com/0cJGzgIw4E
— Volkan BOZKIR (@volkan_bozkir) June 17, 2020
2) I am grateful to President @RTErdogan & Minister of Foreign Affairs @MevlutCavusoglu, for nominating me to this important position and their trust and countenance.
— Volkan BOZKIR (@volkan_bozkir) June 17, 2020
I would also like to thank the Turkish Foreign Ministry,for their strong support at every stage of this process.
3) l will put every effort to serve the UN members, so that the General Assembly continues to carry out its mandate efficiently in the period ahead and take pertinent decisions on global problems and their solutions, while promoting multilateralism and international cooperation.
— Volkan BOZKIR (@volkan_bozkir) June 17, 2020
About Volkan Bozkir
• Volkan Bozkir is the first Turkish national to head the General Assembly. He will take over as the head of 75th UN General Assembly in September 2020. He will hold the post for a period of one year.
Turkey's @volkan_bozkir has been elected @UN_PGA
— United Nations (@UN) June 17, 2020
for the 75th #UNGA session starting in September. See his bio here: https://t.co/7XVUMXKqT8 pic.twitter.com/nC9gtdkR4h
• Volkan Bozkir is currently serving as the head of the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also serving as the Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker from Istanbul.
• He served in Turkey’s foreign service for nearly 40 years including in countries such as Iraq, Germany, Romania and New York. He was elected as a Turkish legislator in 2011.
• He had also previously served as Turkey's Minister of European Affairs and Chief Negotiator.
Background
The sitting arrangements will be changed for the 75th General Assembly. The first seat was occupied by Ghana’s Tijjani Muhammad-Bande for the 74th UN Assembly session of 2019-20. This year, he will be leading the annual forum as it prepares to convene in virtual form for the first time in the UN's 75-year history due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nigerian diplomat Tijjani Muhammad-Bande is the current President of the United Nations General Assembly. He is in office since September 17, 2019.
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