Bangladesh Foreign Minister Elected UN General Assembly President

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly for its 81st session after defeating Cyprus's ambassador in a secret ballot. Rahman received 99 votes out of 190 ballots cast on Tuesday. The Asia-Pacific regional group holds the rotating presidency for the session.

The vote took place at UN headquarters in New York.

No ballots were invalid or abstained. Rahman will assume the post on September 8 and serve through the following year. The incoming term overlaps with the selection process for a successor to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term ends December 31.

Rahman previously served as national security adviser and high representative on the Rohingya issue. He joined Bangladesh's foreign service in 1979 and held senior UN posts in New York and Geneva. Its resolutions are non-binding, yet it elects non-permanent Security Council members and formally appoints the secretary-general on the Security Council's recommendation. The session opens September 8.