How are Member States seated in the General Assembly?
Last Updated: Dec 05, 2023
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Member States are seated by country name in the General Assembly, in accordance with established practice and A/RES/71/323, para. 42. On the day of the election of the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General draws lots to determine which delegation will occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall (at the right end of the front row as seen from the podium). The seating order then follows the English alphabetical order of country names. It is valid for the whole session and also applies to the formal meetings of the Main Committees.
At the end of 2020, in order to allow for social distancing due to the COVID-19 situation in New York, formal in-person meetings were held across three conference rooms.
For the 78th session, North Macedonia was selected to occupy the first seat.
The information of who is in the first seat is provided each year in the Delegates Handbook.
| Session/Year | Country | Reference |
| 78th - 2023 | North Macedonia | A/BUR/78/1 |
| 77th - 2022 | Belize | A/BUR/77/1 |
| 76th -2021 | Suriname | A/BUR/76/1 |
| 75th-2020 | Iceland | A/BUR/75/1 |
| 74th-2019 | Ghana | A/BUR/74/1 |
| 73rd-2018 | Mali | A/BUR/73/1 |
| 72nd-2017 | Czechia | A/BUR/72/1 |
| 71st-2016 | Plurinational State of Bolivia | A/BUR/71/1 |
| 70th-2015 | Tuvalu | A/BUR/70/1 |
| 69th-2014 | Cuba | A/BUR/69/1 |
| 68th-2013 | Croatia | A/BUR/68/1 |
| 67th-2012 | Jamaica | A/BUR/67/1 |
| 66th-2011 | Turkmenistan | A/BUR/66/1 |
| 65th-2010 | Guinea | A/BUR/65/1 |
| 64th-2009 | Cambodia | A/BUR/64/1 |
| 63rd-2008 | Barbados | A/BUR/63/1 |
| 62nd-2007 | Mexico | A/BUR/62/1 |
| 61st-2006 | Sao Tome and Principe | A/BUR/61/1 |
| 60th-2005 | Thailand | A/BUR/60/1 |
| 59th-2004 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | A/BUR/59/1 |
| 58th-2003 | Malawi | A/BUR/58/1 |
| 57th-2002 | Lebanon | A/BUR/57/1 |
| 56th-2001 | Haiti | A/BUR/56/1 |
| 55th-2000 | Antigua and Barbuda | A/BUR/55/1 |
| 54th-1999 | South Africa | A/BUR/54/1 |
| 53rd-1998 | Mali | A/BUR/53/1 |
| 52nd-1997 | Honduras | A/BUR/52/1 |
| 51st-1996 | Italy | A/BUR/51/1 |
| 50th-1995 | Mozambique | A/BUR/50/1 |
| 49th-1994 | Romania | A/BUR/49/1 |
| 48th-1993 | Turkmenistan | A/BUR/48/1 |
| 47th-1992 | Poland | A/BUR/47/1 |
| 46th-1991 | Panama | A/BUR/46/1 |
| 45th-1990 | Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | A/BUR/45/1 |
| 44th-1989 | Sao Tome and Principe | A/BUR/44/1 |
| 43rd-1988 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | A/BUR/43/1 |
| 42nd-1987 | United Arab Emirates | A/BUR/42/1 |
| 41st-1986 | Israel | seating chart (A/BUR/41/1) |
| 40th-1985 | Greece | A/BUR/40/1 |
| 39th-1984 | Tunisia | A/BUR/39/1 |
| 38th-1983 | Afghanistan | A/BUR/38/1 |
| 37th-1982 | Qatar | seating chart (A/BUR/37/1) |
| 36th-1981 | Lebanon | A/BUR/36/1 |
| 35th-1980 | Guyana | A/BUR/35/1 |
| 34th-1979 | Greece | A/BUR/34/1 (Part 1) |
| 33rd-1978 | Norway | A/BUR/33/1 |
| 32nd-1977 | Qatar | A/BUR/32/1 |
| 31st-1976 | Indonesia | A/BUR/31/1 |
| 30th-1975 | Madagascar | seating chart (A/BUR/183 + Add.1) |
| 29th-1974 | Iraq | seating chart (A/BUR/182 + Corr.1 & Add.1) |
| 28th-1973 | Luxembourg | A/BUR/180 + Corr.1 & 2 & Add.1 and Add.2 |
| 27th-1972 | United Kingdom | A/BUR/179/Rev.1 |
| 26th-1971 | Sweden | A/BUR/177 |
| 25th-1970 | Ivory Coast | A/BUR/176 |
| 24th-1969 | Bulgaria | A/BUR/173 |
| 23rd-1968 | Rwanda | A/BUR/170 |
| 22nd-1967 | Iraq | seating chart (A/BUR/167) |
| 21st-1966 | Colombia | seating chart (A/BUR/165) |
| 20th-1965 | Ethiopia | seating chart (A/BUR/162) |
| 19th-1964 | Mongolia | seating chart (A/BUR/160) |
| 18th-1963 | Kuwait | seating chart (A/BUR/158) |
| 17th-1962 | Guinea | seating chart (A/BUR/156) |
| 16th-1961 | Tunisia | seating chart (A/BUR/154) |
| 15th-1960 | Burma | seating chart (A/BUR/153 & Add.1) |
| 14th-1959 | Ghana | seating chart (A/BUR/150) |
| 13th-1958 | Belgium | A/BUR/149 |
| 12th-1957 | Mexico | A/BUR/146 |
| 11th-1956 | Ecuador | A/BUR/142 |
| 10th-1955 | Brazil | A/BUR/140 |
| 9th-1954 | New Zealand | A/BUR/139 |
| 8th-1953 | China | seating chart (A/BUR/137) |
| 7th-1952 | USSR | seating chart (A/BUR/129) |
| 6th-1951 | Pakistan | A/BUR/125 |
| 5th-1950 | Sweden | A/BUR/122 |
| 4th-1949 | Denmark | A/BUR/120 |
| 3rd-1948 | Liberia | A/BUR/99 |
| 2nd-1947 | Iran | A/BUR/83 |
| 1st-1946 | Argentina | A/BUR/3 |
Links & Files
- Search results for the Delegates Handbooks
- 7th-44th sessions seating charts
- 72nd General Assembly seating chart
- 75th General Assembly seating (Iceland-Republic of Korea) Conference Room 2
- 75th General Assembly seating (Republic of Moldova-Belarus) Conference Room 1
- 75th General Assembly seating (Belgium-Observers) Conference Room 3
- 76th General Assembly seating chart
- 75th Geneneral Assembly seating chart
- 78th General Assembly seating chart all states
- 78th General Assembly seating w/officers colored
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: answers are prepared by library staff using resources available at the time of writing. This site may include links and references to third-party databases, websites, books and articles, this does not imply endorsement by the United Nations.
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