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Brazil always speaks 1st at the UN General Assembly. But why?
Sept. 24: Brazil is always the first speaker at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) since the 10th UNGA that was held in 1995. Since the 10th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1995, Brazil has been addressing the Assembly as the first speaker, followed by the United States (US). After the first two speeches by Brazil and then the US, the order of speakers is not fixed. This tradition is not based on alphabetical order.
The origin of this practice dates back to the early years of the formation of the United Nations (UN) soon after the end of World War II. During those days, most countries were hesitant to address the UNGA as the first speaker. Brazil was the only country that chose to be the first speaker at the Assembly.
Another explanation for this tradition goes back to 1947 when the diplomat Oswaldo Aranha of Brazil presided over the First Special Session of the UN General Assembly. Aranha was also elected as the President of the second session of the General Assembly. Since then, Brazil has always been the first speaker at the UNGA.
On September 21, 2021, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was the first head of state who spoke first at the 76th UNGA in accordance with the decades-long tradition. He gave the opening speech at the UNGA on September 21, 2021.
#tbt to 1947, when a tradition begins! Brazilian diplomat Oswaldo Aranha presided the 1st #UNGA Special Session & its 2nd Regular Session. Since then (with rare exceptions) Brazil has been the 1st Member State to address the annual General Debate of the @UN General Assembly! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/R4Tbhjdqbq
— Brazil Mission UN (@Brazil_UN_NY) September 20, 2018
Representatives from all over the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be addressing the chamber of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York during the week-long Annual General Debate, which started on Tuesday. According to the provisional list of speakers released by the UNGA, PM Modi is slated to speak on September 25.
