The UN General Assembly (UNGA) elected Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN, as the President of the 71st session of the UNGA.
Thomson will replace Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark, who is serving as the President of UNGA 70.
13 June 2016: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) elected Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN, as the President of the 71st session of the UNGA. Thomson will replace Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark, who is serving as the President of UNGA 70.
The selection of the UNGA President follows a system of geographical rotation among the five UN regional groupings: African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and Other States. Two candidates from the Asia-Pacific Group competed for the presidency of UNGA 71, Thomson and Andreas Mavroyiannis of Cyprus. The Assembly held a secret-ballot vote to elect the president, and 94 States voted for Thomson, 90 for Mavroyiannis, and one abstained from voting.
As Fiji’s Permanent Representative, Thomson has chaired the Group of 77 and China (G-77/China) and served as Chair of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). He is currently serving as the President of the Council of the International Seabed Authority for its 2015-2016 session. Thomson served as UNGA Vice President from 2010 to 2011. He is the first national of a Pacific Island country to be elected to the presidency in the history of the UN.
Thomson said he will place special attention on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change and ocean issues. He stressed that the UNGA must show real progress on all 17 SDGs by the end of its 71st Session.
Thomson “is a staunch advocate of both sustainable development and climate change” and “brings the very valuable perspective of a small island developing State (SIDS) to this post,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon observed in a statement. He expressed his confidence that Thomson will help the UN to implement both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and be able to forge consensus among Member States. Ban also thanked Lykketoft for his “outstanding contributions,” including bringing transparency to the selection process for the next UN Secretary-General.
Thomson will begin his tenure in September 2016 during the commencement of the 71st Session of the UNGA. [UN Press Release] [Permanent Mission of Fiji Press Release] [UN Secretary-General Statement] [Thomson Biography]