Term length 1 year Formation 1946 | Inaugural holder Paul-Henri Spaak | |
 | ||
Appointer United Nations General Assembly | ||
The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The President presides over the sessions of the General Assembly.
Contents
Peter Thomson of Fiji has been elected as the United Nations General Assembly President of its 71st session beginning in September 2016. The election of Peter Thomson is a first for Fiji and the Pacific. As President-elect for the 71st Session, Ambassador Thomson pledged to serve the General Assembly, "in a spirit of fidelity and commitment to the common good, always in accord with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
Election
The session of the assembly is scheduled for every year starting in September—any special, or emergency special, assemblies over the next year will be headed by the president of UNGA.
The presidency rotates annually between the five geographic groups: African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States.
Because of their powerful stature globally, some of the largest, most powerful countries have never held the presidency, such as the People's Republic of China, France, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In particular, it is customary that no permanent member of the United Nations Security Council ever serves as General Assembly president.
The only country that had a national elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly twice is Argentina; all the other member states had been represented only once by their nationals holding this office. This does not include special and emergency special sessions of the General Assembly.
List of presidents
Abbreviations: