Canberk Yüksel
31 May 2017•Update: 01 June 2017
By Canberk Yuksel
NEW YORK
Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak was elected Wednesday as the United Nations General Assembly president to lead the 72nd session in September.
Lajcak, who ran unopposed for the large ceremonial one-year position that rotates between five geographic areas, stressed reform in his acceptance speech.
"Many member states feel that we need tangible progress on the UN reform agenda and revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. I will do all I can to support this effort," Lajcak said.
Lajcak was Slovakia's candidate for UN secretary-general in last year's election but finished a distant second to Antonio Guterres.
In his address to the General Assembly, Guterres thanked outgoing President Peter Thompson of Fiji for supporting his efforts to "sharpen our focus on prevention, achieve reform, and better serve the peoples of the world".
The secretary-general praised him for his "impressive command of all aspects of UN action and a strong commitment to the principles that govern our work".
The General Assembly session on Wednesday elected 16 vice presidents, in addition to five vice presidents appointed by the permanent members of the Security Council.
Lajcak will begin his tenure Sept. 12 at the helm of the 193-member UN body.
