Annalena Baerbock becomes President of the UN General Assembly: what we know about her
2 June 23:44
Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been elected president of the UN General Assembly, becoming the fifth woman to hold this position in history and the first from the European region. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the press service of the organization.
According to the organization’s press service, 167 countries out of 193 voted for Burbank.
The vote was held in secret at the request of a UN member, Spiegel reports.
According to diplomatic circles, Russia initiated the secret ballot. Moscow did not hide its negative attitude to Baerbock’s candidacy, accusing her of “outright bias.”
#BREAKING
– UN News (@UN_News_Center) June 2, 2025
Annalena Baerbock of Germany ELECTED as President of the General Assembly at its 80th session (Sep 2025-Sep 2026) @UN_PGA
Total ballots: 188
Abstentions: 14
Votes received
Annalena Baerbock: 167
Helga Schmid: 7 pic.twitter.com/RxqgxChHSw
In her first speech, the new head thanked the representatives of the countries for their trust and emphasized that she wanted to be an “honest mediator” in the work of the Assembly, Bild reports.
The German diplomat will take up her new duties in September, when the new session of the General Assembly opens. The official inauguration will take place on September 9, shortly before the general debate of the UN General Assembly with the participation of state guests from around the world.
This top position is considered to be primarily protocol. It should not be confused with the role of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The President of the UN General Assembly presides over the meetings, coordinates the work of the body, ensures compliance with procedures and represents the Assembly at the international level. This is mainly a representative and organizational position – the president does not make political decisions.
What is known about Annalena Baerbock
Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock is a German politician, representative of the Union 90/Greens party, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany since December 2021. For the first time in German history, this position was held by a woman from an environmental political force.
Place of birth and childhood
She was born on December 15, 1980 in Hanover. She spent her childhood in the countryside, on an old farm in Schulenburg, near Hanover.
Education
She graduated from the Humboldt School in Hanover. As a teenager, she was actively involved in artistic gymnastics (trampolining), and at the age of 16 she studied on an exchange program at a school in Florida, USA.
From 2000 to 2004, she studied political science and public law at the University of Hamburg, and in 2004-2005, she received a master’s degree in public international law (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Start of her political career
In 2005-2008, she worked in the office of MEP Elisabeth Schroeder. Later, she worked for the Union 90/Greens faction in the Bundestag as a foreign and security policy advisor.
in 2009, she began working on her dissertation on international law on natural disasters and humanitarian aid at the Free University of Berlin.
She has been a member of the Union 90/Greens party since 2005. In 2008-2013, she was a speaker of the federal working group on European affairs and was a member of the party leadership in Brandenburg. In 2009, she became co-chair of the party’s state branch.
In 2009-2012, she was a member of the governing bodies of the European Green Party, and from 2012 to 2015 she was a member of the federal party council of the Union 90/Greens.
Work in the Bundestag and party leadership
In 2013, she was elected to the Bundestag. After the 2017 parliamentary elections, she joined the negotiations on the formation of the “Jamaican Coalition” (CDU/CSU-FDP-Greens), working in the thematic groups on climate, energy, environment, agriculture and consumer protection.
on January 27, 2018, she was elected co-chair of the party with Robert Habeck. At the time, she was only 37 years old. They both represent the realist wing of the party, the so-called Realo.
Nomination for chancellor and ministerial position
In April 2021, Annalena Baerbock became the first female Green candidate for the post of German Chancellor. Despite the party’s third-place finish in the election, she was appointed Foreign Minister in Olaf Scholz’s government.
Annalena Baerbock strongly supports Ukraine in its opposition to Russian aggression. In particular, she criticized the administration of US President Donald Trump for his quarrel with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on February 28.
Baerbock also called on the German government to provide more military assistance to Ukraine. She insisted that if this step is not taken, Ukraine “will be less able to defend itself and then less able to defend Germany.”
