Volkan Bozkir was elected President of the forthcoming session of the UN General Assembly in a vote held on June 17 that was emblematic of its time.

Volkan Bozkır, a veteran diplomat and parliamentarian was elected as the President of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on June 17.

Bozkır is the first Turkish national who has become the President of the General Assembly.

Bozkır has been elected from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), in strict compliance of the established principle of geographical rotation and General Assembly resolution 33/138 of 19 December 1978.

Bozkır will take over the Presidency from the incumbent Tijjani Muhammad-Bande in September when the 75th Session will resume.

The vote at the UN General Assembly was emblematic of its time. Wearing facemasks and practicing physical distancing, ambassadors from UN Member States filed into the iconic but empty General Assembly Hall to cast their ballots during pre-determined time slots: an added layer of protection in the COVID-19 era.

"l will put every effort to serve the UN members, so that the General Assembly continues to carry out its mandate efficiently in the period ahead and take pertinent decisions on global problems and their solutions, while promoting multilateralism and international cooperation" said Bozkır from his twitter account after his election.

Volkan Bozkır studied law at Ankara University. Following his graduation, he joined the foreign service in 1972. He has held several positions during his 39-years professional career, including Vice Consul of the Consulate General in Stuttgart, First Secretary of the Embassy in Baghdad, Counsellor of the Permanent Representation to the OECD, Consul General in New York, Ambassador in Bucharest, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the EU. He served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Turgut Özal, Chief of Cabinet and Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to President Turgut Özal and President Süleyman Demirel, Deputy Secretary General for EU Affairs, Deputy Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for EU Affairs, and Secretary General for EU Affairs.

Ambassador Volkan Bozkır was elected as Member of Parliament first in 2011 and then, in the following three parliamentary elections. During his nine years as Member of Parliament, he served as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman of Turkey-USA Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucus and Co-Chairman of Turkish-Russian Civic Forum. He was appointed as the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator in August 2014 and remained in the office until June 2016. In July 2018, he was elected for the fourth time as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He also chairs the Turkey-Australia Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group.

Volkan Bozkır was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania and the Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic at the “Knight” rank, and the 100th Anniversary Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He is married, with two children and three granddaughters. He speaks fluent English and French.

Election of the President

The election of the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and respective twenty-one Vice-President, occurs at least three months before the opening of the Session over which they are to preside, in accordance with Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly.