Germany’s Ex-Foreign Minister Becomes 80th UNGA President

Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock became the 80th president of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, officially assuming the role as the new session kicked off.

Baerbock became the fifth woman to serve in the post, and the first from the Western European and Others Group. By contrast, 75 men have held the presidency since since the post was created in 1946. She succeeds Philemon Yang, a former prime minister of Cameroon who headed the 79th session.

Baerbock takes the gavel at a tumultuous moment for the United Nations, with mounting global crises, stalled Security Council action, financial strain, and conflicts around the world. The theme picked for this year’s session is “Better Together”, calling for unity, multilateral reform, and collective action in uncertain times.

When Baerbock presented her candidacy earlier this year, Russia questioned her impartiality, as she was a vocal critic of the Kremlin in her previous role. “Ms. Baerbock has repeatedly proved her incompetence, extreme bias and lack of understanding of the basic principles of diplomacy,” Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the U.N., said in May.

Her presidency has renewed focus on gender representation. While the U.N. has made progress in recent years, advocates continue to push for rotation between male and female Assembly presidents to promote parity. As president, Baerbock will also oversee the selection of the next U.N. secretary-general, and many inside and outside the U.N. are pushing for a first woman Secretary-General.

At 44, Baerbock is also among the youngest leaders to take on the role, according to the United Nations.

In December 2021, she was appointed Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, becoming the first member of the Green party to hold the post. A long-standing member of Alliance 90/The Greens, she co-led the party from 2018 to 2022 and has served as a Bundestag deputy since 2013.

As a minister, she oversaw files like the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as Germany’s Feminist Foreign Policy.

Source: Forbes