The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday picked Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak to be its next president. He will succeed Fiji's former ambassador to the United Nations, Peter Thomson, in September and chair the assembly's 72nd session that month. The post lasts a year.
The sole candidate for the position, Lajcak was elected by an overwhelming majority. He will be the first Slovak in the job. Addressing the assembly, the 52-year-old career diplomat set out a series of priorities, including "preventive diplomacy," responding to the global migrant crisis, defending human rights and reducing inequality. "We can do more to bring the UN closer to the world's citizens," he said. Lajcak was a contender to succeed Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General last year, a post that went to Portugal's Antonio Guterres.
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