Lana Zaki Nusseibeh is an Emirati diplomat and UAE Minister of State, currently on leave from government responsibilities to focus on her candidacy for Secretary-General of the United Nations. From 2013 to 2024, she served as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

Before her UN posting, Nusseibeh established the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Policy Planning Department, served as UAE co-special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, as Deputy Sherpa during the 2011 G20 summit,  supported the UAE’s successful campaign to host the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, worked with UNESCO in Paris.

Over eleven years in New York, she worked across a broad range of files, including peace and security, humanitarian diplomacy, sustainable development, human rights and UN reform. She served as a Vice-President of the General Assembly, President of the Executive Board of UN Women, co-chaired General Assembly revitalisation and Security Council reform processes, and twice served as President of the Security Council during the UAE’s 2022–2023 elected term.

Her experience has shaped a clear view of the office she is seeking: the Secretary-General must use the independence and trust of the role to bring countries to agreement, pursue practical first steps towards peace, and judge the work of the United Nations by the impact it produces. She would bring the same focus on results across development and human rights, while building a more focused organisation capable of delivering on its mandates.