World · Africa · 6 hrs ago
UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh enters race to lead the United Nations
UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh is running to lead the United Nations as its next secretary-general.
She is the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs and previously served as the country’s ambassador to the UN for more than a decade.
She says she wants the UN to solve problems through diplomacy amid mounting global crises.
The contest has struggled to find a candidate acceptable to the Security Council’s most powerful members.
Rebeca Grynspan has led informal polls, but last week she and every other candidate received at least two opposing votes from the council’s five permanent members.
Council members are discussing when to hold another poll, possibly this Friday or later.
If elected, Nusseibeh would be the first woman to lead the UN and its second secretary-general from the Middle East.
Senior UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh entered the race to become the next United Nations secretary-general on Wednesday.
She said she would seek to restore the UN’s role as a diplomatic problem-solver amid global crises.
Nusseibeh is the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs and previously served as its ambassador to the UN for more than a decade.
An informal Security Council poll had placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner.
The UAE denies allegations that it provided military support to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.
- Who
- Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs and a former UAE ambassador to the UN.
- What
- She entered the race to become the next UN secretary-general.
- When
- Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
- Where
- The announcement was made in Dubai.
- Why
- She said the UN needs a secretary-general who can restore its role as a diplomatic problem-solver.
UAE
UN sanctions monitors
Alleged support to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces
UAE
UN sanctions monitors described allegations that the UAE provided military support as credible.
UN sanctions monitors
The UAE denies the allegations.
Nusseibeh’s UN tenure overlapped with the outbreak of the Gaza war, and she secured the adoption of Resolution 2720 to help pave the way for humanitarian aid delivery.
Nusseibeh said multiple countries approached her about putting herself forward.
Nusseibeh and all other candidates received two or more opposing votes from the Security Council’s five permanent members in an informal poll.
Nusseibeh publicly entered the race to become the next UN secretary-general.
- Candidate
- Lana Nusseibeh
- Position
- UAE minister of state for foreign affairs
- Age
- 48
- UN resolution
- Resolution 2720
- Poll frontrunner
- Rebeca Grynspan, former Costa Rican vice president
- UN Security Council permanent members
- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US
What people are saying
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,
It's recognized today that we need someone who offers generational change for the organization.
I come from a country that is younger than the United Nations but our region is one that has been facing severe challenges,
I think it would be great if the next secretary-general was 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.