Nassir Abdulazis Al-Nasser, a senior Qatari diplomat, has been elected by acclamation to replace Switzerland’s Joseph Deiss as the next President of the UN General Assembly when it reconvenes in September.

Al-Nasser, who has been Qatar’s envoy to the UN since 1998 was nominated by the 53 Asian nations whose turn it was to select a candidate for the rotating presidency.

He is widely seen as a bridge-builder by Western powers and said as much in accepting the post, saying he plans to work as a bridge between rich and poor countries and help build consensus on key issues such as hunger, poverty, terrorism and climate change.

Prior to joing the UN in New York, Al-Nasser was Qatar’s envoy to Canada, Brazil, Cuba and other countries. He also served as the Chairman of the Group of 77 developing nations and China.  

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to Al-Nasser and to Qatar, calling the country “an increasingly important actor in the international arena.”  Last year the oil-rich nation stunned the world by beating out the United States and other rivals to host the 2022 World Cup.  Qatar also founded the pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera and is currently supporting the opposition in Libya.