The general debate of each new session of the General Assembly is held the week following the official opening of the session, typically the following Tuesday, and is held without interruption for nine working days. The general debate is a high-level event, typically attended by Member States' heads of state or government, government ministers and United Nations delegates. At the general debate, Member States are given the opportunity to raise attention to topics or issues that they feel are important. In addition to the general debate, there are also many other high-level thematic meetings, summits and informal events held during general debate week.
General debates The general debates are: # Session Year President of the General Assembly Country Secretary-General Opening Date Closing Date 1 1st 1946 Paul-Henri Spaak Belgium Trygve Lie 23 October 1946 14 November 1946 2 2nd 1947 Oswaldo Aranha Brazil Trygve Lie 16 September 1947 22 November 1947 3 3rd 1948 Herbert Vere Evatt Australia Trygve Lie 21 September 1948 12 December 1948 4 4th 1949 Carlos P. Romulo Philippines Trygve Lie 20 September 1949 10 December 1949 5 5th 1950 Nasrollah Entezam Iran Trygve Lie 19 September 1950 15 December 1950 6 6th 1951–52 Luis Padilla Nervo Mexico Trygve Lie 6 November 1951 5 February 1952 7 7th 1952 Lester B. Pearson Canada Trygve Lie 14 October 1952 22 December 1952 8 8th 1953 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit India Dag Hammarskjöld 15 September 1953 9 December 1953 9 9th 1954 Eelco van Kleffens Netherlands Dag Hammarskjöld 21 September 1954 17 December 1954 10 10th 1955 José Maza Chile Dag Hammarskjöld 20 September 1955 9 December 1955 11 11th 1956–57 Prince Wan Waithayakon Thailand Dag Hammarskjöld 12 November 1956 8 March 1957 12 12th 1957 Sir Leslie Munro New Zealand Dag Hammarskjöld 17 September 1957 14 December 1957 13 13th 1958 Charles Malik Lebanon Dag Hammarskjöld 16 September 1958 13 December 1958 14 14th 1959 Víctor Andrés Belaúnde Peru Dag Hammarskjöld 15 September 1959 12 December 1959 15 15th 1960 Frederick Henry Boland Ireland Dag Hammarskjöld 20 September 1960 20 December 1960 16 16th 1961 Mongi Slim Tunisia U Thant (Acting) 19 September 1961 20 December 1961 17 17th 1962 Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Pakistan U Thant 18 September 1962 20 December 1962 18 18th 1963 Carlos Sosa Rodríguez Venezuela U Thant 17 September 1963 17 December 1963 19 19th 1964–65 Alex Quaison-Sackey Ghana U Thant 1 December 1964 18 February 1965 20 20th 1965 Amintore Fanfani Italy U Thant 21 September 1965 21 December 1965 21 21st 1966 Abdul Rahman Pazhwak Afghanistan U Thant 20 September 1966 20 December 1966 22 22nd 1967 Corneliu Mănescu Romania U Thant 19 September 1967 22 December 1967 23 23rd 1968 Emilio Arenales Guatemala U Thant 24 September 1968 20 December 1968 24 24th 1969 Angie Brooks Liberia U Thant 16 September 1969 17 December 1969 25 25th 1970 Edvard Hambro Norway U Thant 15 September 1970 17 December 1970 26 26th 1971 Adam Malik Indonesia U Thant 21 September 1971 22 December 1971 27 27th 1972 Stanisław Trepczyński Poland Kurt Waldheim 19 September 1972 19 December 1972 28 28th 1973 Leopoldo Benites Ecuador Kurt Waldheim 18 September 1973 18 December 1973 29 29th 1974 Abdelaziz Bouteflika Algeria Kurt Waldheim 17 September 1974 18 December 1974 30 30th 1975 Gaston Thorn Luxembourg Kurt Waldheim 16 September 1975 17 December 1975 31 31st 1976 Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Sri Lanka Kurt Waldheim 21 September 1976 22 December 1976 32 32nd 1977 Lazar Mojsov Yugoslavia Kurt Waldheim 20 September 1977 21 December 1977 33 33rd 1978 Indalecio Liévano Colombia Kurt Waldheim 25 September 1978 21 December 1978 34 34th 1979 Salim Ahmed Salim Tanzania Kurt Waldheim 18 September 1979 19 December 1979 35 35th 1980 Rüdiger von Wechmar West Germany Kurt Waldheim 23 September 1980 22 December 1980 36 36th 1981 Ismat Kittani Iraq Kurt Waldheim 22 September 1981 21 December 1981 37 37th 1982 Imre Hollai Hungary Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 21 September 1982 21 December 1982 38 38th 1983 Jorge Illueca Panama Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 20 September 1983 20 December 1983 39 39th 1984 Paul Lusaka Zambia Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 25 September 1984 18 December 1984 40 40th 1985 Jaime de Piniés Spain Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 23 September 1985 18 December 1985 41 41st 1986 Humayun Rasheed Choudhury Bangladesh Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 22 September 1986 19 December 1986 42 42nd 1987 Peter Florin East Germany Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 22 September 1987 22 December 1987 43 43rd 1988 Dante M. Caputo Argentina Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 26 September 1988 20 December 1988 44 44th 1989 Joseph Nanven Garba Nigeria Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 25 September 1989 22 December 1989 45 45th 1990 Guido de Marco Malta Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 24 September 1990 21 December 1990 46 46th 1991 Samir S. Shihabi Saudi Arabia Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 23 September 1991 20 December 1991 47 47th 1992 Stoyan Ganev Bulgaria Boutros Boutros-Ghali 21 September 1992 2 October 1992 48 48th 1993 Samuel R. Insanally Guyana Boutros Boutros-Ghali 27 September 1993 8 October 1993 49 49th 1994 Amara Essy Côte d'Ivoire Boutros Boutros-Ghali 26 September 1994 7 October 1994 50 50th 1995 Diogo Freitas do Amaral Portugal Boutros Boutros-Ghali 25 September 1995 13 October 1995 51 51st 1996 Razali Ismail Malaysia Boutros Boutros-Ghali 23 September 1996 4 October 1996 52 52nd 1997 Hennadiy Udovenko Ukraine Kofi Annan 22 September 1997 3 October 1997 53 53rd 1998 Didier Opertti Uruguay Kofi Annan 21 September 1998 1 October 1998 54 54th 1999 Theo-Ben Gurirab Namibia Kofi Annan 20 September 1999 1 October 1999 55 55th 2000 Harri Holkeri Finland Kofi Annan 20 September 2000 29 September 2000 56 56th 2001 Han Seung-soo South Korea Kofi Annan 10 November 2001 16 November 2001 57 57th 2002 Jan Kavan Czech Republic Kofi Annan 12 September 2002 16 September 2002 58 58th 2003 Julian Robert Hunte Saint Lucia Kofi Annan 23 September 2003 29 September 2003 59 59th 2004 Jean Ping Gabon Kofi Annan 21 September 2004 1 October 2004 60 60th 2005 Jan Eliasson Sweden Kofi Annan 14 September 2005 23 September 2005 61 61st 2006 Haya Rashed Al Khalifa Bahrain Kofi Annan 19 September 2006 27 September 2006 62 62nd 2007 Srgjan Kerim North Macedonia Ban Ki-moon 25 September 2007 1 October 2007 63 63rd 2008 Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann Nicaragua Ban Ki-moon 23 September 2008 29 September 2008 64 64th 2009 Ali Abdussalam Treki Libya Ban Ki-moon 23 September 2009 29 September 2009 65 65th 2010 Joseph Deiss Switzerland Ban Ki-moon 23 September 2010 30 September 2010 66 66th 2011 Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser Qatar Ban Ki-moon 22 September 2011 27 September 2011 67 67th 2012 Vuk Jeremić Serbia Ban Ki-moon 25 September 2012 1 October 2012 68 68th 2013 John William Ashe Antigua and Barbuda Ban Ki-moon 24 September 2013 1 October 2013 69 69th 2014 Sam Kutesa Uganda Ban Ki-moon 24 September 2014 30 September 2014 70 70th 2015 Mogens Lykketoft Denmark Ban Ki-moon 28 September 2015 3 October 2015 71 71st 2016 Peter Thomson (diplomat) Fiji Ban Ki-moon 20 September 2016 26 September 2016 72 72nd 2017 Miroslav Lajčák Slovakia António Guterres 19 September 2017 25 September 2017 73 73rd 2018 María Fernanda Espinosa Ecuador António Guterres 25 September 2018 1 October 2018 74 74th 2019 Tijjani Muhammad-Bande Nigeria António Guterres 24 September 2019 30 September 2019 75 75th 2020 Volkan Bozkır Turkey António Guterres 22 September 2020 29 September 2020 76 76th 2021 Abdulla Shahid Maldives António Guterres 21 September 2021 27 September 2021 77 77th 2022 Csaba Kőrösi Hungary António Guterres 20 September 2022 26 September 2022 78 78th 2023 Dennis Francis Trinidad and Tobago António Guterres 19 September 2023 26 September 2023 79 79th 2024 Philemon Yang Cameroon António Guterres 24 September 2024 30 September 2024 80 80th 2025 Annalena Baerbock Germany António Guterres 23 September 2025 29 September 2025 81 81st 2026 Khalilur Rahman Bangladesh António Guterres 22 September 2026 28 September 2026
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