Former German FM Baerbock elected president of UN General Assembly

UNITED NATIONS -- Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was elected on Monday president of the upcoming 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

Baerbock's election was through secret balloting. She won 167 votes in favor out of 188 ballots cast. Fourteen member states abstained.

She will take up the new post in September 2025 to succeed current General Assembly President Philemon Yang of Cameroon.

In her speech to the General Assembly after her election, Baerbock reiterated her promise to serve all 193 member states as an honest broker and as a unifier. "As president of the General Assembly, I will engage in a trust-based dialogue with all member states," she said.

The 80th session of the General Assembly will be a crucial moment for the United Nations, which, as the center of the multilateral system, is under immense pressure, politically and financially, she said.

"More than 120 armed conflicts remind us that the primary mission of the United Nations -- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war -- remains unaccomplished," she said. "Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will remain elusive without bold, ambitious, accelerated, just and transformative actions as we committed to in the Pact for the Future."

Yet, nothing would be better without the United Nations, she said. "We also need to join efforts now to preserve what the United Nations has achieved since its establishment in 1945 to address the current global crisis and to adapt to emerging future challenges."

Baerbock served as German federal foreign minister between December 2021 and May 2025.

She has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013. She served as co-chair of the Greens party between 2018 and 2022.

Baerbock was born in Hanover on Dec. 15, 1980. She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Hamburg University of Germany and a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.