Dennis Francis

Dennis Francis (born 27 November 1956) is a diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago who has served as his country's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York since 2021. From 2023 to 2024 he was President of the United Nations General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session.

Education Francis studied geography at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, and international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

Career Francis worked at the Trinidad and Tobago consulate in Toronto, Canada, from 1988 to 1996, including as Deputy Consul General, before becoming deputy director of International Economic and Trade Relations at the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996 and Director of the European Affairs Division of the Ministry in 1997. In remarks during a press conference on 10 September 2024, the last day of his General Assembly presidency, he cast doubt on whether the United Nations had sufficient means and authority to force Russia to comply with the UN Charter and international law.

Francis was awarded an honorary doctorate of education by the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom in 2024.

Family Francis is married to Joy Thomas-Francis, with whom he has three sons and 3 grandchildren.