The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has elected, by acclamation, Dennis Francis, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN, to serve as President of its 78th session. In his acceptance speech, Francis said his vision for UNGA 78 is ‘Peace, Prosperity, Progress, and Sustainability.’ He will succeed Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, current UNGA President, assuming the presidency on 5 September 2023.

In accordance with the principle of geographical rotation, the president of UNGA 78 was to be elected from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States. Francis was the only official candidate for the presidency, and a May 2023 informal dialogue on his candidature preceded his election on 1 June 2023.

Among other positions, the President-elect has served as: Director of Multilateral Relations; Senior Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on matters including climate change and the negotiations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and Permanent Representative to the UN, Geneva, as well as Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to the UN Human Rights Council.  

Conceptualizing the thrust of his Presidency in his vision statement, Francis highlighted peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability as the international community’s “four supreme objectives” that, if achieved, would “significantly alter the current trajectory of disappointment and disillusionment, … opening up the possibilities of a world with boundless opportunity, in which nations and people live in harmony with each other and in harmony with nature.”  

Thanking Member States, Francis described education as “a great liberator which lifts people up the socioeconomic ladder and strengthens society in the process.” He called for “re-energiz[ing] action to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” as it is through education that children and young people may be afforded “the option of choice and the capacity to self-actualize for their benefit and that of their communities. 

The President-elect pledged transparency, accountability, vigor, and dedication in discharging his responsibilities, and promised to prioritize meaningful dialogue. “It is my hope to bring forward, with your help and support, a renewed atmosphere of conciliation, cooperation and shared commitment in addressing the many challenges and seizing every opportunity — however nascent — before the General Assembly,” he said.

Congratulating Francis on his election, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed his “critical perspective” as a representative of a small island developing State (SIDS).

Also extending his congratulations, Kőrösi hailed Francis’s “comprehensive view of the work of the General Assembly as we rebuild trust in and within this institution, tackle climate change and strive to get the SDGs back on track.”

The UNGA elected Bolivia, the Congo, Estonia, the Gambia, Iceland, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Zambia as Vice-Presidents of its plenary to join the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK, and the US – which serve annually as UNGA Vice-Presidents.

The Assembly also elected the Bureaus of its six Main Committees: Disarmament and International Security; Special Political and Decolonization; Economic and Financial; Social, Humanitarian and Cultural; Administrative and Budgetary; and Legal. [UN Meetings Coverage] [UN News Story] [Election of UNGA 77 President]