The United Arab Emirates has formally nominated Lana Zaki Nusseibeh to become the next United Nations secretary-general, entering a candidate into a selection process that has yet to produce a consensus choice. President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan submitted the nomination by letter to the presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council.
The announcement was made in Abu Dhabi late on 21 October. It is a nomination, not an appointment: under the UN Charter, the General Assembly appoints the secretary-general only on a recommendation from the Security Council. The Council is still weighing the field through informal ballots, and its latest poll on 16 October did not identify a candidate with a clear route through.
A new name in a divided contest
Nusseibeh is a UAE minister of state and diplomat with a long record in multilateral work. She served as the country’s permanent representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024. During that period she was a vice-president of the General Assembly, chaired the executive board of UN Women and took part in work on General Assembly revitalisation and Security Council reform. The UAE also held an elected Council seat in 2022 and 2023, when she twice served as Council president.
That experience gives her familiarity with the institution she seeks to lead, but it does not resolve the political arithmetic. The Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent members whose opposition can block a recommendation. Informal straw polls gauge support and resistance; they are not the formal appointment vote and their results do not select the secretary-general.
The sixth poll, held on 16 October, left the existing field without an uncontested path forward. The latest published account of that ballot described Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan as the leading contender on favourable votes, while also reporting opposition from permanent members. Several other candidates remained in contention. The Council has not formally recommended anyone, and Nusseibeh’s entry means the contest now includes another candidate to be considered.
What the candidate says she would prioritise
In setting out her case, Nusseibeh has put conflict prevention and diplomacy at the centre of her programme. She argues that the UN should preserve channels for negotiation and pursue workable agreements, including humanitarian access and local truces, while drawing on regional organisations and mediators close to a conflict. These are proposals for how she would use the office, not outcomes already achieved.
Her programme also calls for changes to how the UN operates. It proposes clearer priorities, less duplication and stronger accountability for what programmes deliver compared with what they cost. On development, she has argued for cooperation shaped around national priorities, jobs and the needs of fragile settings. She has also called for the organisation to help countries build practical cooperation on technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and to support climate resilience.
The candidacy arrives with the current secretary-general, António Guterres, due to complete his second term at the end of 2026. The successor is expected to take office in January 2027, leaving the Council responsible for finding a nominee in time for a General Assembly appointment. The selection process includes political judgement as well as a numerical threshold: a candidate needs sufficient Council support and must avoid a veto by any permanent member.
The UAE’s letter presents Nusseibeh’s UN experience and diplomatic work as grounds for her candidacy. Whether that record can attract the support required will become clearer only as Council members continue their consultations and informal ballots. Until a recommendation is made and the General Assembly acts on it, the post remains undecided.
