Danish parliament speaker to head UN General Assembly

Danish parliament Speaker Mogens Lykketoft will become the next president of the UN General Assembly in September 2015 replacing current president, Uganda's Sam Kutesa, media reported Thursday.

"It will be an exciting but also complicated assignment," Lykketoft, a veteran Social Democrat, was quoted by local TV2 News as saying, adding he has been put forth as the only candidate for the position.

Lykketoft said he expected to be appointed formally by the UN General Assembly in late June next year, but it was just a formality, Xinhua reported citing the news channel.

While the president of the General Assembly serves a largely figurative role, Lykketoft said he was confident that he could make a difference.

"Of course you can in specific situations make a difference... There will indeed be a large number of decisions and resolutions that will be argued, implemented and negotiated," Denmark's Berlingske Tidende newspaper quoted him as saying.

Lykketoft, 68, will be the first ever Danish president when the UN General Assembly's 70th session gets under way.

He has been a member of parliament since 1981 and served as Denmark's tax minister, finance minister and foreign minister at various times.