Update: 10:59AM The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated Fiji Ambassador Peter Thomson on his newly elected role as President of the 71st session of the General Assembly.
In a statement today, the secretary general said Mr Thomson would have an opportunity to build on the extraordinary progress seen under the leadership of the previous President, Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark.
“I am delighted to offer my warmest congratulations to the new President-elect of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji. Thomson brings a broad perspective to his new post. He has years of experience in the international arena, both working for his Government and in the private sector.”
Ambassador Thomson’s candidacy was put forward by Fiji and 11 other Pacific Small Island Developing States at the United Nations.
He was in a two-way contest with Andreas Mavroyiannis of Cyprus.
All 193 member states of the United Nations were eligible to participate in the simple-majority, secret-ballot election.
Ambassador Thomson received 94 votes while Andreas Mavroyiannis polled 90.
Mr Ban Ki-moon said the new President-elect would bring a valuable perspective of a small island developing State to this post.
