<\/p>\n
On 31 May 2017, the General Assembly of the United Nations elected H. E. Mr. Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k of Slovakia as President of its seventy-second session, which spans from September 2017 to September 2018. During this time, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k is simultaneously serving his fourth term as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He has dedicated his professional life to diplomatic service, representing both the Slovak Republic and the international A key figure in the mediation of the post-conflict crises in the Western Balkans, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k negotiated, organized and supervised the referendum on the independence of Montenegro in 2006 on behalf of the European Union.<\/p>\n From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k served as High Representative of the International Community and European Union Special From 2009 to July 2010, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k served his first term as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic.<\/p>\n From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k helped shape the newly formed diplomatic service of the European Union, the European From April 2012 to March 2016, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k served as Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of his country. He was Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations and has a law degree from the Comenius University in Bratislava.<\/p>\n He has received several state honors, including the Order of the Yugoslav Star, 1st Class, in 2005; the Order of Honor of the He is married and has two daughters.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.69″ src=”http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2017\/08\/PGA72-small.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” animation_style=”slide” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” animation_direction=”left” \/][et_pb_cta _builder_version=”3.0.69″ button_url=”http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/2017\/05\/31\/acceptance-speech-upon-election-as-president\/” url_new_window=”off” title=”Election of the President” button_text=”Watch now” use_background_color=”on” background_layout=”dark” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_icon_placement=”right” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" H.E. Mr.\u00a0Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k On 31 May 2017, the General Assembly of the United Nations elected H. E. Mr. Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k of Slovakia as President of its seventy-second session, which […]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
\ncommunity. He joined the foreign service in 1988 and has held various diplomatic positions since, including as Slovak
\nAmbassador to Japan, Executive Assistant to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Balkans and later as the Slovak
\nAmbassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to Albania.<\/p>\n
\nRepresentative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
\nExternal Action Service, as its Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia.<\/p>\n
\nreappointed as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in 2016 and 2018 respectively.<\/p>\n
\nRepublic of Moldova in 2014; and the Order of the Montenegrin Great Star in 2016.<\/p>\nPresident of the seventieth session of the United Nations General Assembly<\/h2>\r\n
H.E. Mr.\u00a0Mogens Lykketoft<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
![\"Miroslav](\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/72\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2017\/08\/biography-img-300x200.jpg\")
\r\n\r\nOn 15 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly elected Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark to serve as the President of its seventieth session, which runs from September 2015 to September 2016. At the time of his election, Mr. Lykketoft was the Speaker (President) of the Danish Parliament, a position he has held since 2011.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nMr. Lykketoft is an economist by training and a veteran parliamentarian and government minister. As chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 2002 to 2005, he was also the opposition leader in Parliament.\r\n\r\nA Cabinet Minister for a total of 11 years \u2013 beginning in 1981, when he was Minister for Taxation \u2013 Mr. Lykketoft served most recently as Foreign Minister, from 2000 to 2001. Earlier, as Finance Minister from 1993 to 2000, he spearheaded economic reforms that led to a rise in employment rates and a strengthened economy. During the same period, Denmark, which has traditionally been an active supporter of international development efforts, dramatically exceeded its development assistance targets.\r\n\r\nMr. Lykketoft\u2019s career in Parliament began in 1981 and has spanned a dozen consecutive general elections \u2013 including the latest, in June 2015. He has currently taken leave from Parliament while he serves as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.\r\n\r\nPGA Team<\/a>\r\n\r\nWhile Vice-President of the Parliament from 2009 to 2011, Mr. Lykketoft also served on its Public Accounts Committee, from 2006 to 2011, and was the foreign policy spokesman of his party from 2005 to 2011.\r\n\r\nWhen his party was in opposition over the period 1982 to 1993, Mr. Lykketoft chaired several parliamentary committees and was its key negotiator with the government on economic policy and budgets. He also served as his party\u2019s parliamentary spokesperson from 1991 to 1993, and again, from 2001 to 2002.\r\n\r\nPreviously, from 1975 to 1981, Mr. Lykketoft headed a department of the Danish Labour Movement\u2019s Economic Council \u2013 an economic think-tank established by the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions and the Social Democratic Party.\r\n\r\nSince 2010, Mr. Lykketoft has been a regular foreign affairs analyst and commentator with Danish TV2 News, appearing with former Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen of the Danish Liberal Party on the weekly news magazine Ellemann & Lykketoft.\r\n\r\nBorn in Copenhagen on 9 January 1946, Mr. Lykketoft will turn 70 during the Assembly\u2019s seventieth session, a fact he highlighted during his acceptance speech to the world body upon his election. A graduate of the University of Copenhagen with a Master\u2019s degree in economics, he has written books and articles on subjects ranging from foreign policy and security to economics and the \u201cDanish Model\u201d for employment and social welfare, including two books he co-authored with his wife, the Danish journalist and writer, Mette Holm. He has two daughters and five grandsons.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-106973","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n