UAE Nominates Lana Nusseibeh for UN Secretary-General

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has nominated Lana Nusseibeh for secretary-general of the United Nations, the state-owned Emirates News Agency reported. Nusseibeh is the minister of state in the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and her country's first female ambassador to the UN. She becomes the seventh candidate in the race to lead the organisation. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's term ends on December 31, 2026, so member states must choose a successor by then.

The nomination and the candidate

The agency said UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan submitted the nomination, citing her experience at the UN and her record of constructive work. The office of the General Assembly president would not confirm it had received the paperwork, saying president Khalilur Rahman is travelling. Teneo, a public relations firm working for the UAE Foreign Ministry, confirmed the nomination. Nusseibeh, born in 1978, was the UAE's UN ambassador from 2013 to 2024 and represented the country on the Security Council in 2022–2023. She has taken a leave of absence from her government post to campaign.

Hurdles and support

A candidate needs at least nine of the 15 Security Council votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia. A former diplomat from the global South told the outlets that Nusseibeh would not have entered without believing the permanent members were agreeable. Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said it may be a "coronation".

Human Rights Watch's 2026 report on the UAE describes severe restrictions on expression, association and assembly. UN independent expert panels have accused the Emirates of arming and funding Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which the UAE denies. Nathaniel Raymond of Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab warned of a conflict of interest, while Brett McGurk, a former Biden administration security adviser, praised her role in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The field

The other candidates are Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana), Rafael Mariano Grossi (Argentina), Olara Otunnu (Uganda), and María Fernanda Espinosa and Ivonne A-Baki (both Ecuador). A Security Council straw poll planned for October 23 has been postponed.