Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, a role he will assume for a one-year term beginning September 8. In a secret ballot held on Tuesday, Rahman garnered 99 votes against his competitor, Cyprus’s Ambassador Andreas Kakouris, who received 91 votes, out of 190 ballots cast. This election comes at a critical juncture for the UN, as it faces mounting pressure on its multilateral system and a growing strain on global trust in international institutions. Rahman, a career diplomat with prior senior UN experience, acknowledged these challenges, stating that the UN's ninth decade begins with trust being tested on multiple fronts. His term will also overlap with the process of selecting the successor to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term concludes at the end of the year.