- Samir Shihabi
Infobox_Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = Samir Shihabi
imagesize =
order =President of the United Nations General Assembly
term_start =
term_end =
predecessor =Guido de Marco
successor =Stoyan Ganev
birth_date = birth date and age|1925|5|27
birth_place =Jerusalem ,British Mandate of Palestine
death_date =
death_place =
spouse =Samir Shihabi, born in
Jerusalem on May 27, 1925 [ [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1191/9111044.htm "General Assembly Elects a Saudi President as 46th Session Opens"] , "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs", November 1991] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFDE143EF93BA2575AC0A967958260 "Saudi Elected by the U.N. Assembly"] , "New York Times", September 18, 1991] , is a former Saudidiplomat .Education
Shihabi studied at the
American University inCairo , obtaining a degree in political and economic sciences [ [http://www.un.org/french/ga/president/bios/bio46f.shtml Biography] on the website of the United Nations] , as well as at the Universities of Yale, Cambridge and New York. [ [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1191/9111044.htm "General Assembly Elects a Saudi President as 46th Session Opens"] , "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs", November 1991]Political career
Shihabi began working for the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1949. He was appointed to top diplomatic postings in
Turkey ,Switzerland ,Somalia ,Italy andPakistan , before becoming Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations in 1983. [ [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1191/9111044.htm "General Assembly Elects a Saudi President as 46th Session Opens"] , "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs", November 1991] In 1991, he was elected to preside over the 46th session of theUnited Nations General Assembly . [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFDE143EF93BA2575AC0A967958260 "Saudi Elected by the U.N. Assembly"] , "New York Times", September 18, 1991]The "New York Times" described him as " [a] friendly, avuncular figure [who] collects ornate walking sticks, which he often carries around the United Nations. He keeps a generous supply of chocolate in his pocket, which he hands out to friends as he strolls around the buildings." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFDE143EF93BA2575AC0A967958260 "Saudi Elected by the U.N. Assembly"] , "New York Times", September 18, 1991]
References
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