UAE’s Lana Nusseibeh Joins Contest for United Nations Secretary-General

Senior UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh entered the race for United Nations secretary-general, positioning herself as a generational change for the body. Her candidacy arrives as an informal Security Council straw poll shows Rebeca Grynspan as a narrow frontrunner, though all contenders have faced opposition from the five permanent members. Nusseibeh, who served more than a decade as the UAE’s UN ambassador, cites her role in passing Resolution 2720, which facilitated aid deliveries to Gaza, and describes her “creative entrepreneurial diplomacy” in arranging council members’ visit to the Rafah crossing.

She acknowledged recent criticism of the UAE over alleged support for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, stating she has taken leave from her ministerial post to concentrate on Sudan’s humanitarian crisis. A victory would make her the second secretary-general from the Middle East after Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali and the first woman to hold the post, though she emphasizes her campaign is driven by optimism for multilateralism rather than gender. The Security Council is expected to decide whether to hold another poll soon.