UK Weighs Backing 48-Year-Old Diplomat for UN Top Post

The United Kingdom is considering support for Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh in the race for the next United Nations secretary-general.

Multiple sources close to the British government told Middle East Eye that officials lean toward backing her candidacy, although a final decision has not been made. The British Foreign Office had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. Nusseibeh is 48 years old and would be the first woman to lead the organization if selected.

The potential endorsement comes at a time of strained relations between London and Abu Dhabi. Last month, Manchester City Football Club, owned by UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was found to have breached 114 Premier League financial rules. The club was accused of disguising more than £830 million in illicit funding. The club denies the claims, while Emirati officials have reportedly threatened to cancel investments in Britain in response to the league's actions. Sources indicated that backing Nusseibeh could help secure goodwill with the UAE.

Nusseibeh’s candidacy has faced criticism due to the UAE’s role in the Sudan civil war. UN investigators said mass killings by the Rapid Support Forces bear the hallmarks of genocide, and the UAE is accused of supporting that paramilitary group. The UAE denies these allegations. Critics have also pointed to the close ties between the UAE and Israel. Nusseibeh is of Palestinian heritage, and her family hails from Jerusalem.

Her entry into the race followed six informal straw polls in which no candidate secured the backing of the five permanent UN Security Council members: Britain, the US, Russia, China, and France. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ends his term in December. It remains unclear whether the Security Council will agree on a candidate for the General Assembly to approve before that date.

Nusseibeh served as the UAE’s first female permanent representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024. During that time, she held the posts of vice-president of the General Assembly, president of the UN Women executive board, and twice served as president of the Security Council. Before that, she worked as a Unesco consultant and at the Gulf Research Centre before founding the UAE foreign ministry's policy planning department.

In a statement launching her campaign last week, Nusseibeh said she believes this is a moment to act with greater urgency and bring people together across difference. She noted that she completed a master's in Israeli studies at Soas, where her teacher Colin Shindler described her essays on Zionism and Israeli history as insightful. In September 2025, she urged the Israeli government to suspend plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, stating the UAE has always seen the Abraham Accords as a way to support Palestinians.

The UK announced sanctions on 15 senior commanders from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces on Monday. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said UK-funded investigations showed rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan, a year after the RSF massacred civilians in El Fasher. UN experts have concluded the RSF committed genocide against non-Arab communities in Darfur, while the Emirati government, including Nusseibeh, has repeatedly denied links to the supply of arms to the group.