Election of the President
The election of the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and respective twenty-one Vice-President, occurs at least three months before the opening of the Session over which they are to preside, in accordance with Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly.
Furthermore, in conformity with resolution 71/323, entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, the Assembly decided to call upon candidates for the position of the President of the General Assembly to present their vision statements and to conduct informal interactive dialogues with the Member States, thus contributing to the transparency and inclusivity of the process.
The President of the 75th session of the General Assembly is to be elected from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), in strict compliance of the established principle of geographical rotation and General Assembly resolution 33/138 of 19 December 1978.
Due to the continued limitations on holding large in-person meetings as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, the President of the 74h session of the General Assembly, H. E. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, convened an informal interactive dialogue with the candidate nominated by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, on Friday, 15 May 2020, at 11:00 a.m. through a virtual platform.
Update: watch the complete informal interactive dialogue with the candidate nominated by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir here
Update: The General Assembly, under agenda item 4, will hold on Wednesday, 17 June 2020, the election of the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session.
Volkan BOZKIR
Volkan Bozkır studied law at Ankara University. 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. He served as the 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.
Ambassador Volkan Bozkır was elected as Member of Parliament first in 2011 and then, in the following three parliamentary elections. During his nine years as Member of Parliament, he served as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman of Turkey-USA Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucus and Co-Chairman of Turkish-Russian Civic Forum. He was appointed as the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator in August 2014 and remained in the office until June 2016. In July 2018, he was elected for the fourth time as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He also chairs the Turkey-Australia Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group.
Volkan Bozkır 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. He speaks fluent English and French.
Vision Statement
Vision Statement by the Chair Of The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ambassador Volkan Bozkir as Candidate for the Presidency of the 75th Session of The United Nations General Assembly
Letters
Important Letters Regarding the 75th Session of the General Assembly