This will be “no ordinary session,” she pledged, with the multilateral system beset by overlapping crises and heightened disunity. A former foreign minister of Germany, Ms. Baerbock becomes only the fifth woman in history to preside over the General Assembly. In a symbolic gesture linking past to present, she swore...
She assumes the role at a challenging time, with ongoing conflicts, faltering development goals, mounting financial pressures, and the upcoming selection of the next Secretary-General. Ms. Baerbock received 167 votes following the secret ballot. Write-in candidate Helga Schmid (also from Germany) received seven. Fourteen delegations abstained. She becomes the first...