Past Presidents
55th Session: Harri Holkeri
Portrait of Mr. Harri Holkeri, President of the United Nations General Assembly’s 55th session. UN Photo
Harri Holkeri was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly’s 55th session on 5 September 2000. Before his election, he was serving as Finland's Prime Minister.
Harri Holkeri presided the General Assembly’s 55th session from 5 September 2000 to 10 September 2001.
Also on 5 September 2000, the General Assembly elected 21 Vice-Presidents for the 55th session:
- from the African States: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Gabon, Guinea, Mozambique and Tunisia;
- from the Asian-Pacific States: Bhutan, Kuwait, Maldives, Uzbekistan and Yemen;
- from the Eastern European States: Belarus;
- from the Latin American and Caribbean States: El Salvador, Haiti and Suriname;
- from the Western European and Other States: Turkey;
- the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.
Priorities
"In order not to become a hermit kingdom, understood only by United Nations experts, the General Assembly must be able to explain why its work is relevant to the outside world", Harri Holkeri (Finland), the newly elected President of the General Assembly, said this afternoon at the opening of the fifty-fifth session.
Stressing the need to work in a transparent and understandable manner, he said that in order to add value and make a difference, the Assembly must address the challenges of rapid change and globalization. In doing so, it must respond to the current priorities of its Member States. That required the courage to look back at the original legislative intent of the General Assembly and determine how that could be best reflected in the practical work of the Organization today.
He also drew attention to the fact that the new Session had been designated as the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations. The stating that the Millennium Summit and its Declaration would provide enormous momentum, reinforcing the implementation of the global agenda and its development targets, as defined in the global conferences of the 1990s.
Priority issues of the 55th Session of the General Assembly
Statements and Messages
September 2001
- Statement at the Concluding Session of the 55th General Assembly of the United Nations
(10 September 2001) - Statement at the 54th Annual DPI/NGO Conference "NGOs Today: Diversity of the Volunteer Experience" (10 September 2001)
- Statement at the annual meeting of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (9 September 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of September (6 September 2001)
- Statement at a reception hosted by Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lesotho (3 September 2001)
- Statement at the Parliament of Lesotho, "Poverty Eradication - Attaining the Development Targets of the Millennium Declaration in Least Developed Countries" (3 September 2001)
August 2001
- Statement at the opening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (31 August 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of August (15 August 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People (9 August 2001)
- Statement on "The Role of International Organizations in coping with cultural conflicts" at the Summer Seminar: "Cultural Borders and and Multicultural Socities" by the United Nations Association of Estonia (7 August 2001)
July 2001
- Statement at the luncheon of the World Association of Former Untied Nations Interns and Fellows (WAFUNIF); "Poverty Eradication - Attaining the Development Targets of the Millennium Declaration" (13 July 2001)
- Statement on the death of H.E. Mr. Choudhury of Bangladesh (12 July 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of July (11 July 2001)
- Statement at the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (9 July 2001)
June 2001
- Statement on the re-election of the Secretary-General (29 June 2001)
- Statement at the 4th Annual Summit on Staff Security (28 June 2001)
- Statement at the conclusion of the General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS (27 June 2001)
- Statement to the special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS (25 June 2001)
- Statement at the AIDS Memorial Quilt Unfolding Ceremony (25 June 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Refugee Day (20 June 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (17 June 2001)
- Statement at a Seminar on Girls' Education; "I missed it, but give me another chance" (14 June 2001)
- Statement for an Overall Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Habitat Agenda (6 June 2001)
- Statement at the Symposium on Children in Armed Conflict: Everyone's Responsibility (5 June 2001)
- Statement at the opening of the Exhibition "Urban Millennium" (5 June 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June 2001)
- Statement about the deaths in the royal family of Nepal (4 June 2001)
May 2001
- Statement on the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day (31 May 2001)
- Statement at the UN Civil Society Outreach Symposium (30 May 2001)
- Meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of May (29 May 2001)
- Meeting of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (29 May 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of the observance of the week of solidarity with the peoples of the non-self-governing territories (25 May 2001)
- Statement at the open-ended informal consultations of the plenary, after the agenda of the special session on HIV/AIDS was adopted (25 May 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of commemoration of Africa Day (24 May 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May 2001)
- Statement at a Seminar on "Girls' Education: from Rhetoric to Action" (21 May 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of the World Telecommunication Day (17 May 2001)
- Statement at the Informal/informals of the Plenary on revitalization of the General Assembly; Improving the efficiency of the General Assembly (17 May 2001)
- Statement at the Informal/informals of the Plenary on revitalization of the General Assembly; Improving the efficiency of the General Assembly (16 May 2001)
- Statement at the Special Event of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels, "How can we reach the 2015 International Development Goals?" (16 May 2001)
- Statement at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels (14 May 2001)
- Statement at the last meeting of the May session of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (11 May 2001)
- Statement at the 8th meeting of the May session of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (7 May 2001)
- Statement on "Fighting racism and promoting diversity: the role of the free press", on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (3 May 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of May (3 May 2001)
April 2001
- Statement at the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Infectious Diseases (26 April 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (26 April 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of April (24 April 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day (23 April 2001)
- Statement on the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century at the United Nations Association of China (9 April 2001)
- Statement at the All China Women's Federation's luncheon in China (9 April 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Health Day (7 April 2001)
- Statement at a luncheon at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan (3 April 2001)
March 2001
- Statement on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day (24 March 2001)
- Statement to the World Meteorological Organization on World Meteorological Day "Volunteers for Weather, Climate and Water" (23 March 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Day for Water (22 March 2001)
- Statement on the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of World Poetry Day (21 March 2001)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of March (21 March 2001)
- Statement at the First Meeting of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (20 March 2001)
- Statement at the American Scandinavian Society "Towards a Stronger United Nations" (19 March 2001)
- Statement at the fifth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (15 March 2001)
- Statement at a Seminar on the Åland Islands as an Example for Peaceful Governance "Autonomy - An Alternative to Secession? (15 March 2001)
- Statement at the fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (13 March 2001)
- Statement at the third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council (12 March 2001)
- Statement on the occasion of International Women's Day "Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflict" (8 March 2001)
February 2001
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of February (26 February 2001)
- Statement on the discussion devoted to the report of the Secretary-General on HIV/AIDS (26 February 2001)
- Statement at the Bridgeport University under a topic "Towards a stronger UN" (22 February 2001)
- Statement at the Plenary meeting concerning the earthquake in El Salvador and recent floods in Bolivia (14 February 2001)
- Statement at the end of the General Committee informal brainstorming session (14 February 2001)
- Statement at the opening of the General Committee informal brainstorming session (13 February 2001)
- Statement for the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the High-level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development (12 February 2001)
- Statement at the second meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council, and the Programme of Work (5 February 2001)
- Statement at the Rural Poverty Report 2001 release luncheon: "The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty" (5 February 2001)
- Statement for the Second Meeting of the Preparatory Committee on the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (5 February 2001)
January 2001
- Statement for the Second Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Children (29 January 2001)
- Statement to the Security Council (26 January 2001)
- Statement at the Open-Ended Informal Consultations of the Plenary on agenda item 179 (Review of the problem of HIV/AIDS in all its aspects) (24 January 2001)
- Statement on the nomination of Facilitator for the process of Reform of the General Assembly (23 January 2001)
- Statement concerning the death of President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (23 January 2001)
- Statement at the Forum of Indonesia Council on World Affairs (17 January 2001)
December 2000
- Statement at the conclusion of the first part of the 55th session of the General Assembly (23 December 2000)
- Statement on the appointments of two vice-chairpersons to the Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (21 December 2000)
- Statement before the General Assembly takes action on the draft resolution concerning the closure of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (14 December 2000)
- Statement about the death of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu (13 December 2000)
- Statement on the appointments of Vice-Chairpersons for Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council (12 December 2000)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of December (12 December 2000)
- Statement on the appointments of Co-chairpersons of the Second UNICPOLOS Meeting (12 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the opening of the fourth Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (11 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Human Rights Day (10 December 2000)
- Statement to the Student Conference on Human Rights (8 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of 40th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (8 December 2000)
- Statement to the Fifth Committee (7 December 2000)
- Statement on the two facilitators of the preparatory process of the HIV/AIDS Special Session (6 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (5 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the Finnish Food Festival luncheon (5 December 2000)
- Statement at the Pledging Conference for United Nations Relief and Works Agency (4 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Finlandia Foundation Independence Day Celebrations (3 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of International Day of Disabled Persons (3 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of unveiling of the sculpture of "Arrival", a gift from Ireland to the United Nations (1 December 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the World AIDS Day: "AIDS: Men make a difference" (1 December 2000)
November 2000
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November 2000)
- Statement at the Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeals 2001 launch (28 November 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women (25 November 2000)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Main Committees (22 November 2000)
- The monthly meeting between the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups for the month of November (21 November 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Africa Industrialization Day (20 November 2000)
- Statement to the UN World TV Forum "The General Assembly and the Digital Divide" (16 November 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the luncheon honouring recipients of the Global Tolerance Award 2000, on the International Day of Tolerance (16 November 2000)
- Statement at the Forum of Small States (FOSS) "The Role of the General Assembly President in reforming and revitalizing the United Nations" (15 November 2000)
- Statement on follow-up to the World Summit for Children (15 November 2000)
- Statement at a reception in honor of his visit to Washington DC (14 November 2000)
- Statement to the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the announcement of voluntary contributions to UNHCR (10 November 2000)
- Statement at a Fundraising Luncheon honoring the twleve female Ambassadors, organized by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (9 November 2000)
- Statement to the General Assembly of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations (CONGO) (6 November 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of admission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to membership to the United Nations (1 November 2000)
October 2000
- Statement regarding the discussion of the General Assembly on the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the special session of the General Assembly in this regard (31 October 2000)
- Statement regarding the discussion of the General Assembly on the Report of the International Court of Justice (30 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the event "Eliminating Hunger in the New Millennium" (30 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of United Nations Day (24 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Fourth Annual Race Against Poverty Awards "Breaking the Silence on HIV/AIDS" (23 October 2000)
- Statement at the World Food Day observance (18 October 2000)
- Statement in support of the World March of Women 2000 (17 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradiction of Poverty (17 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (11 October 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of World Habitat Day 2000 (2 October 2000)
September 2000
- Statement at the briefing for the NGO community (28 September 2000)
- Statement to the United Nations Association of the United States (25 September 2000)
- Statement at the United Nations Staff Day (25 September 2000)
- Statement at the Closing of the General Debate (22 September 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Reception (22 September 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Special Screening of the CNN documentary "Soldiers of Peace" (19 September 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Millennium Peace Day Event (19 September 2000)
- Statement on the occasion of Millennium Peace Day Event (19 September 2000)
Letters
- Letter concerning the revitalization of the General Assembly; improving the efficiency of the General Assembly (30 July 2001)
- Letter concerning the next meeting of Africa Working Group (11 July 2001)
- Letter concerning the Prevention of armed Conflict (8 June 2001)
- Letter regarding the request to modify the name of "United Nations security and Safety Service" to "United Nations Diplomatic Police" (11 May 2001)
Team
- H.E. Harri Holkeri, President
- H.E. Mr. Jarmo Sareva, Chef de Cabinet
- Ms. Aira Päivöke, Minister Councellor
- Ms. Raili Lahnalampi, Minister Councellor
- Ms. Sinikka Koski, Research Assistant
- Ms. Anja Feodoroff, Personal Assistant to the President
- Ms. Susan Markham, Spokesperson
- Ms. Minna Kaihovirta, Assistant to the Spokesperson
- Mrs. Antoinette F. Schmeelk, Secretary
- Mr. Marvin Rey Cardenas, Secretary
