For the United Nations General Assembly's 67th session (commencing in September 2012), the office of President of the General Assembly was slated to be occupied by an individual from Eastern Europe, one of the five regional groups of UN member states. Jeremić ran against Lithuania's Dalius Čekuolis, and was elected president by a simple majority of votes (99–85) among members of the General Assembly. The election marked the first time since 1991 that the General Assembly had to vote in order to select its next president. Jeremić became the youngest president in the General Assembly's history. In his acceptance speech, he stressed the need for international unity in tackling the problems that accompany conflict and instability: