Abdulla Shahid, who has been elected as the president of the United Nations General Assembly, is a citizen and resident of South Asia’s Maldives and has been in the small island nation’s leadership structure for decades. He has served in the legislative and executive branches of the government. 

The 59-year-old was born in the Maldives’ capital city Male in 1962. He has two sons and a daughter with his wife Aishath Suiza, according to the official website of the Maldives government.

Shahid was instated as the country’s Minister of State in 2005 and was made the Foreign Minister in a span of two years. A short while after this, Maldives went through substantial governmental changes as the country adopted a new constitution. 

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Before this, Shahid worked as an officer in Maldives’ Foreign Ministry, starting in 1983, and moved up to be the International Affairs Director just a decade later. Two years later, he was appointed as the President’s Executive Secretary, according to the Maldives government official site.

The 59-year-old also set a national record by being the first elected individual to serve as the speaker of People’s Majlis. He held the position for a term of five years, beginning in May 2009.

Recently, Shahid was elected as the President of the United Nations General Assembly for the committee’s 76th session. The South Asian country’s Foreign Minister garnered a total of 143 votes out of a total of 191 ballots. 

The position requires a simple majority in the General Assembly.