UAE nominates Lana Nusseibeh as candidate for UN Secretary-General

The United Arab Emirates has formally nominated Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, its Minister of State, as a candidate for UN Secretary-General, with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan submitting the nomination in a letter to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on 22 October (UrduPoint/WAM).

Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024, has taken leave from her ministerial role to pursue the candidacy (Gulf News). She served twice as president of the Security Council during the UAE’s 2022–2023 term, as a Vice-President of the General Assembly, and as President of the UN Women Executive Board.

“I am standing to be Secretary General because I believe this is a moment to act with greater urgency: to act earlier, bring people together across difference, and drive the work forward until it produces concrete results,” she said (Dawn). She also vowed to serve the office “speaking frankly with every government and answering to none.”

Her entry comes after the Security Council’s latest informal straw poll on 16 October, in which every contender received an effective veto from one or more of the five veto-wielding permanent members (Dawn). She becomes the seventh candidate to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends on 31 December, joining the field with no clear front-runner (Jerusalem Post). The Jerusalem Post reports she is of Palestinian descent.