A Turkish diplomat, Volkan Bozkir has been elected at the President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Bozkir, who was the sole candidate for the position, secured 178 out of 189 valid votes cast. There were 11 abstentions. The event marks the first-ever Turkish diplomat to be elected to the post.
By 15th of September 2020, he will take over from Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the current General Assembly president.
In reaction to his new post, Ambassador Bozkir thanked UN member-states for unanimously electing him as the President of the 75th Assembly.
1) I am thankful to all UN member states, for electing me with an overwhelming majority,as the President of the 75th UN General Assembly. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the UN, I will guide the efforts to contribute to international peace, in the challenging times we live in. pic.twitter.com/0cJGzgIw4E
— Volkan BOZKIR (@volkan_bozkir) June 17, 2020
According to his profile on UN’s website, Bozkir studied law at Ankara University in Turkey. 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.
Others include 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.
He 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.
