Senior United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh has entered the race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General, injecting a prominent Middle Eastern candidate into a contest struggling to produce a consensus candidate among the Security Council’s most powerful members.
Nusseibeh’s entry comes as the council struggles to find an un-vetoed successor to António Guterres, whose term ends at the end of December.
In an informal Security Council “straw poll” held last week, former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan remained the narrow frontrunner. However, all candidates on the ballot—including Grynspan—received two or more opposing votes from the veto-wielding permanent five members (P5): Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States. Council members continue to negotiate whether to conduct additional polling to break the stalemate.
A Decade of Multilateral Diplomacy and “Entrepreneurial” Approach
Nusseibeh, 48, served as the UAE’s ambassador to the UN for over a decade (2013–2024), during which she chaired the Executive Board of UN Women, served as Vice-President of the General Assembly, and co-chaired intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform. She also led the UAE’s successful bid for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2022–2023 term.
“It’s clear that today we need a secretary-general that can recommit to the future of multilateralism and the future of the United Nations as a problem-solver rather than as a spectator to the world’s crises,” Nusseibeh told Reuters prior to going public.
She cited her work during the 2023 Gaza conflict as an example of her “creative entrepreneurial diplomacy,” where she arranged a site visit for Security Council members to the Rafah border crossing to help secure the adoption of Resolution 2720, which facilitated aid deliveries to the enclave.
Addressing Regional Criticisms and Campaign Focus
Nusseibeh’s candidacy unfolds against the backdrop of the UAE’s assertive foreign policy. The UAE has faced scrutiny regarding Sudan, following reports from UN sanctions monitors noting credible allegations of UAE military support to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces—allegations Abu Dhabi denies.
Addressing how these allegations might impact her campaign, Nusseibeh confirmed she has taken a leave of absence from her UAE government post to concentrate on her candidacy and prioritize Sudan’s severe humanitarian crisis.
If selected by the General Assembly upon the Security Council’s recommendation, Nusseibeh would become the first woman to lead the 80-year-old organization and the second chief from the Middle East, after Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali. “I’m not running because I’m a woman; I’m running because I am stubbornly optimistic about the future of the United Nations,” she stated.
