Bahrain Woman (Sheikha Haya) General Assembly President
UNITED NATIONS — A pioneering lawyer and women’s rights advocate from Bahrain was elected U.N. General Assembly president Thursday, the first woman from the Middle East to take the post.
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, the legal adviser to Bahrain’s Royal Court, takes the job at a time of turmoil at the United Nations. The U.N. is under fire from critics in the U.S., and many of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s proposals to reform the world body have bogged down in a power battle between rich and poor nations.
Sheikha Haya’s most important job will likely involve the decision to replace Annan, whose second and last five-year term ends in December. The General Assembly traditionally rubber stamps the Security Council’s choice for U.N. chief, but some member states have demanded it play a greater role this year.
Source: The Associated Press.
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