UAE set to nominate Lana Nusseibeh to succeed Guterres as UN secretary-general, sources tell 'Post'

Diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post that the UAE is set to nominate Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh as a candidate for UN secretary-general. Nusseibeh, a former UAE permanent representative to the UN, would become the seventh candidate in the race to replace Antonio Guterres, whose term ends December 31.

Diplomatic sources in New York told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates is expected to soon announce the nomination of Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh as a candidate for the next United Nations secretary-general. Nusseibeh, an Emirati diplomat serving as assistant minister for political affairs in the UAE Foreign Ministry, previously served as the UAE permanent representative to the UN for over a decade and as council president on the UN Security Council from 2022 to 2023. The upcoming selection will determine who will replace incumbent Antonio Guterres as the 10th UN secretary-general, as Guterres completes his second five-year term on December 31. Nusseibeh's potential entry comes amid months of intense diplomatic positioning as regional blocs vie for the top post. Six official candidates are currently active, with Nusseibeh as a likely seventh. Former vice president of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan has led in straw polls, while IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi of Argentina and Guyana's permanent representative Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett are also prominent contenders. Customarily, the UN selects the secretary-general on the basis of regional rotation, and it is Latin America's turn for the position; Nusseibeh's appointment would run counter to the established norm, but she is not disqualified.