An advocate of the Abraham Accords with Palestinian origins has been nominated by the United Arab Emirates to be the new secretary-general of the UN.
Lana Nusseibeh, 48, who was born in the UAE and studied in the UK, is the daughter of Jerusalem-born Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, who is the cultural adviser to the President of the UAE.
Nusseibeh, who took Israeli and Jewish Diaspora Studies at the University of London and is fluent in Hebrew, is currently the minister of state in the Emirati foreign ministry.
Nusseibeh was the UAE’s ambassador to the UN from 2013 to 2024 and is an advocate for a two-state solution and Palestinian self-determination.
It was during her tenure as ambassador when the Abraham Accords were signed and she promoted the normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab countries.
In 2022, Nusseibeh got a seat on the Security Council and used the position to push for more humanitarian aid to Gaza in the wake of October 7.
In February 2024 she addressed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to express her hopes for the future of Palestine.
She said: “The UAE strongly believes that the only path to that just and lasting peace is through the fulfilment of the long-denied right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, with an independent and sovereign Palestine based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-side with Israel.”
On Wednesday, she spoke about her nomination to be the new secretary-general.
“I think it would be great if the next secretary-general is a woman, but I’m not running because I’m a woman; I’m running because I am stubbornly optimistic about the future of the United Nations and I believe we need someone who is relentless in the pursuit of diplomacy to open doors,” she said.
“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.”
The current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is due to leave office on December 31, 2026, after two five-year terms. The new secretary-general will take the post the following day on January 1, 2027.
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