"He has a background of outstanding commitment to development," Ban said. "I commend Denmark for its long record of meeting and surpassing the development assistance target. And I applaud Lykketoft for the fact that when he was finance minister, Denmark dramatically exceeded that target to help even more people struggling against poverty."

The secretary-general said he has had many "in depth" talks with Lykketoft and even visited his old office in Denmark's Parliament.

"Now he will preside over the General Assembly, our 'Parliament of Humanity,'" Ban said, noting the 70th anniversary.

"I count on him to celebrate these milestones with an even stronger commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and global solidarity," the secretary-general said, calling Lykketoft's theme "inspiring."

"Together, we can act so the United Nations lives up to its historic ambitions for this year and helps secure the long-term future of our world," he said.

After the formal session was over, Lykketoft met briefly with reporters outside the great hall of the assembly where he reiterated a few of his remarks and took a few questions.

One of the first was how to pronounce his name.

"It's complicated," Lykketoft said. Then he slowly pronounced it twice, Lihk-keh'-tuhft.