Volkan Bozkir Becomes the 1st Turkish to be Elected as the President of 75th UN General Assembly

On June 17, 2020 Volkan Bozkir(69) from Turkey was elected as the president of the 75th United Nations(UN) General Assembly. He is the 1st turkish to hold this post. He will hold the post for 1 year. Volkan Bozkir will succeed Tijjani Muhammad-Bande when the annual session opens on September 15, 2020.

• He won unopposed with the support of 178 UN member states by secret ballot.

Gist about Volkan Bozkir:

i.Volkan Bozkir currently serving as a Justice and Development(AK) Party lawmaker from Istanbul and head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

ii.He was elected to the Turkish Legislature in 2011 after nearly 40 years in foreign service, including in Germany, Iraq, New York and Romania.

iii.He was Turkey’s consul-general in New York between 1989 and 1992, permanent representative to the EU from 2005 to 2009.

iv.He also served as Turkey’s Minister of European Affairs and Chief Negotiator.

About 75th session of UN General Assembly:
Date– September 15, 2020 to September 30, 2020
Location– New York, United States
Organiser– UN Secretariat

• This is the 1st time the annual forum will occur in virtual form.
• Tijjani Muhammad-Bande proposed that the General Assembly president and the UN Secretary-General will make live speeches at this year’s General Debate.
• Other world leaders were asked to present themselves with recorded video reports, instead of coming to New York in person.

About UN General Assembly:
Headquarters– New York, United States