- Статьи
- World
- Great again: former German Foreign Minister elected President of the UN General Assembly
Great again: former German Foreign Minister elected President of the UN General Assembly
Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock has been elected as the new president of the UN General Assembly. She will become the fifth woman in this post and will take up her duties in September. This position is rather ceremonial, the post of former German foreign minister will be held for only a year, but Burbok's appointment caused a scandal in Berlin. After all, they originally wanted to send a more experienced diplomat, former OSCE chief Helga Schmidt, to New York. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Castling
"Annalena Berbok has said and done a lot of things as head of the German Foreign Ministry, which does not fit in with how the chairman of the General Assembly should act," Dmitry Polyansky, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, commented on the election of the former German Foreign Minister as the new chairman of the UN General Assembly.
According to the Russian diplomat, Moscow has doubts about its ability to maintain impartiality.
Annalena Burbok speaks at the UN General Assembly. June 3, 2025
Polyansky said that Burbok was remembered as head of the German Foreign Ministry for "rabid Russophobia" and "very strange statements." Moscow is confident that the former head of the OSCE, Helga Schmidt, who was initially nominated for this post, would have handled her duties better.
"She seems to many to be a much more worthy candidate than Annalena Burbok," said Russia's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.
A similar position is shared by the former head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen. He called the German government's intention to "replace the best German diplomat with international experience with an outdated model" "shamelessness."
Annalena Burbok speaks at a press conference after her election as President of the UN General Assembly. June 2, 2025
In diplomatic circles, as the Bild newspaper wrote, such a castling was considered political manipulation by Berlin. According to Spiegel, the German Foreign Ministry fears that Berbok's appointment will cost Germany the votes of the countries of the Global South, on the one hand, because of her anti-Russian position, on the other, because of her pro—Israel position.
Rash statements
Usually, the election of the head of the General Assembly takes place in a simplified mode — by acclamation, however, a vote was organized at the request of Russia. Some members of the General Assembly also tried to challenge the nomination of Annalena Burbok, and seven votes went to another candidate, Helga Schmidt, who has made a bright diplomatic career.
Schmidt was an adviser to several foreign ministers, led the EU delegation to the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, and was also Secretary General of the European External Relations Service. In 2020, Helga Schmidt became the first woman to serve as OSCE Secretary General.
Compared to her experience, Annalena Burbok's track record looks more than modest.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock during a joint press conference in Kyiv. April 1, 2025
As Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, she did not get out of scandals. In April 2022, she declared that the West was "waging a war against Russia," although Brussels' official position was to support Kiev without direct involvement in the conflict. The Kremlin called her words an "official recognition of participation in the conflict," while Germany criticized her for "undiplomatic rhetoric" that could provoke an escalation.
Burbock criticized Israel for its operation in Gaza, but later softened her position under pressure from the United States. In West Jerusalem, she was accused of "double standards," and in Germany, her policy was called "inconsistent."
As Foreign Minister, Burbok was notable for her uncoordinated and ill-considered statements.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock during her visit to Israel. March 26, 2024
Her words often caused tension in relations between the two countries. For example, the interaction between Berlin and Beijing became seriously complicated after she publicly called Taiwan a country, although Germany does not officially recognize the island's independence. At the end of last year, she disrupted her visit to China, starting negotiations by criticizing China's political course. As a result, the Chinese side escorted the German journalists out and canceled the rest of the program, rejecting the joint statement.
Reports about the minister's regular flights to Europe on a private jet also did not add to her popularity, and given that she is from the Green Party, critics also accused her of hypocrisy.
Form the agenda
167 states supported Burbok in the vote. By tradition, the Chairman of the General Assembly is elected once a year. One of the five groups of countries — Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean — nominates a candidate in turn. The permanent members of the UN Security Council do not have such an opportunity.
Annalena Burbok will become the fifth woman in this post and will assume her duties in September. The post is currently held by former Prime Minister of Cameroon Philemon Yang.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during a meeting. April 24, 2025
Burbock promises to "work in the interests of all 193 countries, big and small," for those "who unite, for those who are always ready to listen, and for those whose door is always open." She named strengthening coordination between the General Assembly and the UN Security Council, as well as reforming the UN structure as a whole, as her main priorities.
In general, this position is rather ceremonial, and the functions of the Chairman of the General Assembly are limited. The main power is concentrated in the hands of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, but Burbock will be able to set the tone for the global agenda by moderating debates, representing the General Assembly in the international arena, and opening plenary sessions.
What do the experts think
Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, notes in a conversation with Izvestia that Annalena Berbok, as president of the UN General Assembly, will set a specific agenda.
— First of all, there is a climate agenda. The UN is now paying a lot of attention to the issue of climate change, and Burbock is associated with the climate issue at the UN level, because she is a representative of the Green Party," the political scientist noted.
According to her, the second reason is that Berbok is perceived in Germany as an official who does what they want her to do.
— They told her to criticize someone - she criticizes, makes the decisions she was told to make, in general, she is consistent in this regard. By nominating her to the post of chairman, they probably want to reward her for her services," the expert believes.
Annalena Burbock at a meeting of the German government. March 2025
The specialist stressed that Moscow opposed the candidacy of Annalena Berbok.
"Since she cannot be a neutral chairman, Berbok performed purely anti—Russian tasks," the analyst concluded.
Artem Sokolov, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, noted in an interview with Izvestia that Annalena Berbok's work as head of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs had left contradictory reviews from experts.
— It cannot be said that the work was successful, at least if we compare the ideas with which she was appointed to this post and how they were implemented in practice. Therefore, it is not surprising that her nomination and subsequent election as President of the UN General Assembly caused confusion among many observers. There is no explanation why this happened," said the German.
According to him, there is a point of view that this position is "a kind of punishment for Berbok for her unsatisfactory work results."
— Most likely, in her own way, Burbock nevertheless proved herself in German politics and international relations, albeit as a person with a specific ideology who failed to solve many of the tasks set. Probably, for certain foreign policy circles of Germany, maybe even Western countries, the style of diplomacy that she demonstrated was convenient in a certain sense, the expert believes.
The expert does not exclude that there are probably people in Annalena Berbok's entourage who would like to "keep her as a first-tier politician."
"Perhaps they would like to give her the opportunity to gain some international experience as President of the General Assembly so that she can continue to be a prominent figure in the foreign policy of Germany and in German diplomacy in general," the analyst concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
