UAE's Lana Nusseibeh Joins Crowded Race for UN Secretary General

UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh has officially entered the contest to become the next UN Secretary General, according to a report by the State media agency Wam on Wednesday. Ms. Nusseibeh will now be among the candidates vying for the leadership of the global organization. Her previous roles include serving as the UAE's representative to the UN and leading its delegation during its recent two-year term on the Security Council. Wam highlighted in a letter submitted to the UN Security Council from President Sheikh Mohamed that Ms. Nusseibeh possesses "deep experience of the United Nations, her judgment in addressing the ongoing international challenges, and her record of constructive work."

The current Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is nearing the end of his second and final term at the close of the year. Ms. Nusseibeh enters a competitive field, with eight individuals already put forward for the position: Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Senegal's Macky Sall, Ecuador's Ivonne Baki, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, and Uganda's Olara Otunnu. However, no candidate has yet secured sufficient backing from UN Security Council members. Deliberations are ongoing, with straw polls suggesting Ms. Grynspan is currently the front-runner. The expectation of new candidates entering the race arose due to the current deadlock.

Should Ms. Nusseibeh be selected, she would make history as the first woman to hold the position of UN Secretary General, and only the second Arab, following Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali. She would also be the first from the Gulf Arab region to assume the role. Ms. Nusseibeh was appointed as the UAE's ambassador to the UN in 2013. Prior to this, she held various positions within the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she established and directed the Policy Planning Department for three years. Her past roles also include leading the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) campaign task force at the ministry and serving as director of research and communications for the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs. She concluded her tenure as UN ambassador in mid-2024 to assume her current position as UAE Minister of State.

In a recent interview with The National last month at the General Assembly in New York, Ms. Nusseibeh discussed the UAE's key messages at the UN and its commitment to multilateralism. She stated, “Although it seems that this is a really uncertain time ... a challenging time, it is not a time to give up hope. It is not a time to give up optimism about the future. It is not a time to give up diplomacy and a recommitment to multilateralism.”