Lana Nusseibeh for UN Secretary-General: Why Her Candidacy Is Getting Attention
In eighty years, the United Nations has never been led by a woman. That could change. Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Minister of State, has entered the race to become the next UN Secretary-General, after her government formally nominated her. She would also be only the second Arab to hold the job. Supporters see a veteran who knows the system from the inside. Critics see a diplomat tied to a government with a contested foreign policy. Both points matter, so this article covers them.
Eleven Years at the UN
Nusseibeh was the UAE’s ambassador to the UN from 2013 to 2024. Her supporters note that she was the first woman to hold that post for her country. Along the way she became a Vice-President of the General Assembly and helped lead work on reforming both the Assembly and the Security Council. That kind of work rarely makes headlines. It does teach you where the real power sits and how deals get made.
A Record on Women’s Leadership
In 2017 she became President of the Executive Board of UN Women, the agency focused on gender equality. So her interest in women’s leadership is not new, and it did not start with this campaign. When the UAE chaired the Security Council in March 2022, it held an open debate on International Women’s Day about women’s role in preventing conflict and rebuilding after it.
The Council Chair Years
The UAE sat on the Security Council in 2022 and 2023, and Nusseibeh led its work. Under her presidency of the Council, the UAE held a ministerial debate in June 2023 on climate change, peace and security. Some members thought the Council was the wrong place for that talk. She disagreed, saying the link between climate stress and conflict was too clear to ignore. The UAE and the United Kingdom also worked together on a draft resolution on tolerance.
Diplomacy Outside New York
Nusseibeh also serves as her country’s envoy to the European Union. In December 2025 she and EU Commissioner Dubravka Šuica announced the start of talks on a Strategic Partnership Agreement. Those talks sit beside separate trade negotiations that began in May 2025. For European audiences, this shows a diplomat who can run long, detailed negotiations.
What Edi Rama Said
Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, announced his country’s full backing on X. He said he got to know Nusseibeh when Albania served on the Security Council. He praised her grasp of world affairs, her humility and her skill at helping people from different cultures understand each other. He described her candidacy as a ray of hope for a UN facing doubts about its purpose. After decades of men in charge, he said, a woman of her calibre is the organisation’s best hope. You can read his message on X.
Her Own Message
Nusseibeh says the UN should act sooner in a crisis and stay with a problem until it is solved. She told Reuters she is running because she is “stubbornly optimistic” about the organisation, not because she is a woman. She has also said she would speak frankly to every government and answer to none.
The Hard Questions
None of this erases the criticism. UN sanctions monitors have called allegations that the UAE backed Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces credible, and rights groups have raised wider worries about UAE regional policy. The UAE denies the Sudan claims. Nusseibeh has taken leave from her government post and says she would focus on Sudan’s humanitarian crisis if chosen. Expect journalists and diplomats to press her on all of this.
What Happens Next
She is not the only candidate. Rebeca Grynspan and Rafael Grossi are also in the race, and tradition says it is Latin America’s turn. The Security Council will keep holding informal straw polls. Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly makes the final choice.
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