World Leaders Forum Welcomes President of the 79th United Nations General Assembly

Seton Hall University will welcome Ambassador Philemon Yang, president of the United Nations General Assembly, to the World Leaders Forum. The event will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, in the Chancellor’s Suite of the University Center.

Presented by the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, the event is open to all. Register for the event here.

As President of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ambassador Yang is responsible for chairing and presiding over the proceedings of the General Assembly through 2026. As President, he oversees enforcement of procedural rules and represents the assembly throughout United Nations committees and member states.

President Yang is a veteran politician and former prime minister of Cameroon (2009 to 2019). He served as his country’s ambassador to Canada from 1984 to 1985 and then high commissioner in Canada between 1995 and 2004. He has been Cameroon’s dean of the diplomatic corps in Canada. Currently, he chairs the African Union's Panel of Eminent Africans.

“Hosting President Yang is a great honor for us,” said Courtney Smith, Ph.D., dean of the School of Diplomacy. “It’s essential that our students engage with the leaders and individuals driving international cooperation and diplomacy.” The World Leaders Forum, Smith noted, prepares Seton Hall students to become leaders of world diplomacy in the future. The forum, he said, “provides a unique opportunity for our students to learn about and discuss the challenges we face in our global society, as well as to see how we, as individuals, have a role in addressing them.”

Born on June 14, 1947, in Jikejem-Oku, located in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, President Yang received his law degree from the University of Yaoundé. He is a graduate of the National School of Administration and Magistracy. He holds a master’s degree in international law from the University of Ottawa and in business administration from Century University in the United States.

Throughout his career, President Yang has worked toward the protection of human rights and dignity, the rule of law, solving humanitarian issues, combating climate change and the reform and revitalization of the United Nations. He led Cameroonian delegations to high-level economic summits in Washington, D.C., London, New Delhi and several other major international cities. In the context of Africa, President Yang has contributed to regional diplomacy by taking part in various sessions of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, as well as the summit on the institutional reform of the African Union.

Mr. Yang has also held several crucial government positions including vice-minister of territorial administration (1975–1979), minister of mines and energy (1979–1984) and minister, deputy secretary general at the presidency of the republic (2004–2009).

Sean Dowd, a graduate student at the School of Diplomacy, said he is looking forward to President Yang’s visit. “The last event with a UNGA president of the 78th Session, Mr. Dennis Francis, offered a great perspective on how the UN is viewed by an official,” Dowd said. “Regarding the changing global order and rising need for international organizations in diplomacy, hearing the perspective from the foundational institutions of the world is incredibly important.”

The World Leaders Forum brings global conversations into the heart of our campus. As future leaders in diplomacy, development and international affairs, our students have an opportunity again this semester to hear directly from a leader who is engaged in addressing the world’s most pressing issues.

Categories: Nation and World