United Nation’s General Assembly has recently elected Dennis Francis to serve as President of its 78th session. He belongs to which of the following countries ?
- (1)Uganda
- (2)Brazil
- (3)Chile
- (4)Trinidad and Tobago
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Trinidad and Tobago.
On 1 June 2023 the UN General Assembly "elected by acclamation Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) to serve as President of its seventy-eighth session", according to UN press release GA/12504. He had served as Trinidad and Tobago's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
At the same meeting, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Amery Browne, pointed out that his country had never held the position.
The 78th session began on 5 September 2023, when Francis took the oath of office and succeeded Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, President of the 77th session. His vision for the session was "Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability".
The idea to remember: Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean island State, presided over the UN General Assembly's 78th session.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Uganda — Uganda was elected at the same meeting on 1 June 2023, but as one of the Vice-Presidents of the 78th session, alongside Bolivia, Congo, Estonia, Iran, Singapore, Sri Lanka and others.
The President elected that day was Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago.
- (2)Brazil — Brazil is not Dennis Francis's country. Brazil features differently in the Assembly: it traditionally speaks first in the general debate, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the member-state speeches of the 78th session's debate on 19 September 2023.
The session's President came from Trinidad and Tobago.
- (3)Chile — Chile, like Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago, belongs to the Latin American and Caribbean States group, one of the five regional groups among which the Assembly presidency rotates.
But the President elected for the 78th session was Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, not a Chilean.
Concept
The President of the UN General Assembly presides over one annual session. The Assembly meets from September to December (the main part) and then from January to September as required (the resumed part).
The United Nations says the post rotates among five regional groups: the African States, the Asia-Pacific States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Western European and other States.
Under the Assembly's rules of procedure, the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Chairs of the six Main Committees are elected at least three months before the new session starts.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance." and "Persons, Places and Institutions in News." under Current Affairs.
The President of the General Assembly is different from the UN Secretary-General, who heads the Secretariat; António Guterres held that office in 2023 and also congratulated Francis on his election.
In his opening address in September 2023, Francis named peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability as his watchwords and drew attention to small island developing States and least developed countries.
Key facts
- 1 June 2023: the UN General Assembly elected Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, by acclamation, President of its 78th session (GA/12504).
- Francis succeeded Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, President of the 77th session; the 78th session began on 5 September 2023.
- Trinidad and Tobago's foreign minister told the Assembly that his country had never held the presidency before.
- The presidency rotates among five regional groups; Trinidad and Tobago belongs to the Latin American and Caribbean States group.
- Uganda, Bolivia, Estonia and Singapore were among the Vice-Presidents elected for the 78th session on the same day.
Sources: UN press release GA/12504 (1 June 2023) and UN News (5 September 2023).
Study next
Common traps
- Confusing the President with the Vice-Presidents elected the same day. Uganda was elected a Vice-President of the 78th session, not President.
- Confusing the President of the General Assembly with the UN Secretary-General. In 2023 the Secretary-General was António Guterres.
- Mixing up successive presidents. Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary presided over the 77th session; Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago over the 78th.
A question can ask which country a newly elected President of the General Assembly comes from, or which session he presides over.
A question can also ask how the presidency is shared among the UN's regional groups.
Related PYQs
Recently Yamandu Orsi has been elected as the President of which country ?
- (1) Paraguay
- (2) Uruguay
- (3) Venezuela
- (4) Guyana
Answer(2)
Same task, the country of a newly elected office-holder. That question asks of which country Yamandu Orsi was elected President (RPSC's key: Uruguay); this one asks the country of Dennis Francis, elected President of the UN General Assembly's 78th session.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, succeeded by Dennis Francis in September 2023?
- (a)Abdulla Shahid
- (b)Csaba Kőrösi
- (c)Volkan Bozkir
- (d)Tijjani Muhammad-Bande
Answer(2) — Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary presided over the 77th session and handed over to Dennis Francis. Option (1) presided over the 76th session, option (3) over the 75th and option (4) over the 74th. - practice — not a real PYQ
The post of President of the UN General Assembly rotates among
- (a)the five permanent members of the Security Council
- (b)the members of the G20
- (c)the five regional groups of Member States
- (d)the elected members of the Security Council
Answer(3) — The United Nations states that the presidency rotates among the five regional groups. Options (1), (2) and (4) are not the basis of the rotation.