Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will be paid about 13,000 euros before tax to serve as chairman of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, DPA news agency reported, quoting the German Foreign Ministry.

Axar.az reports that according to the ministry, Baerbock’s salary corresponds to pay grade B9, which applies to senior government officials in Germany. It is standard practice, the ministry noted, for the official’s home country – in this case, Germany – to cover the remuneration. With government approval, Baerbock signed an employment agreement under the same terms that apply when the Foreign Ministry sends its employees abroad. Baerbock's remuneration is the same as the salary of the head of a large diplomatic mission, the Foreign Ministry said.

On Monday, the UN General Assembly voted to appoint the ex-minister as chairman of the 80th session. Baerbock ran unopposed.

The German Foreign Ministry initially intended to nominate Helga Schmid, a former OSCE Secretary General and professional diplomat, for the position, but on March 18, the Cabinet nominated Baerbock for 2025-2026.

Later, the Spiegel magazine reported that Baerbock's appointment caused discontent in the German Foreign Ministry — the diplomats are afraid that Baerbock’s appointment will cost Germany the votes of the countries of the global South owing to her anti-Russian and pro-Israeli stances. This move, according to some diplomats, threatens to disrupt Germany's efforts to secure a seat at the UN Security Council.

In mid-May, Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that Berlin's decision to nominate Baerbock was like "spitting in the face" of the world organization. Polyansky then recalled that it was the former German foreign minister who recommended that representatives of Russia and Belarus not be invited to commemorative events on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, and also openly stated "that she was proud of her grandfather, who served in the SS."

The 80th session of the UN General Assembly will begin in September.