Bangladesh’s Khalilur Rahman Elected UNGA President

Darwin, 03 June : Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected President of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), defeating Cyprus’ Special Envoy for Multilateralism Andreas Kakouris in a closely contested vote. He will serve in the prestigious role for a one-year term.

The election was held on Tuesday (June 2) at the UN Headquarters in New York, where member states cast their votes during an official session of the General Assembly.

Out of 190 votes cast by UN member states, Khalilur Rahman secured 99 votes, while his sole competitor, Cyprus’ Andreas Kakouris, received 91 votes, resulting in an eight-vote victory for Bangladesh’s candidate.

The result was officially announced by German former Foreign Minister and President of the 80th UNGA session, , in the presence of UN Secretary-General .

Following the announcement, Khalilur Rahman, who was present inside the General Assembly Hall, was seen raising both hands in prayer after learning of his victory. He later addressed the assembly as the newly elected president.

With this victory, Bangladesh will occupy the presidency of the UN General Assembly for the second time in its history. The first Bangladeshi to hold the position was , who served as President of the 41st UNGA session in 1986.

The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to officially begin on September 8, while the high-level general debate featuring speeches by world leaders is expected to commence on September 22.

Under the UN’s regional rotation system, the presidency of the 81st session was allocated to the Asia-Pacific Group. Although Cyprus belongs to the European Union, it competed under the same regional group as Bangladesh.

How Khalilur Rahman Became Candidate

Bangladesh initially expressed interest in the post in 2020, when then-Foreign Minister Abdul Momen formally notified the UN of the country’s intention to seek the presidency for the 2026 session under the Asia-Pacific Group.

Later, during the interim administration, former Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain was nominated for the position. However, following Bangladesh’s national election in February this year and the formation of a BNP-led government under Tarique Rahman, Khalilur Rahman was appointed foreign minister under a technocrat quota.

Subsequently, Bangladesh changed its nominee, officially backing Khalilur Rahman for the election, while Palestine later withdrew from the race, leaving Bangladesh and Cyprus in direct competition.

In Tuesday’s vote, Bangladesh emerged victorious by an eight-vote margin, securing one of the most prestigious diplomatic positions at the United Nations.