The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs announced his candidacy for UN Secretary-General.

Lana Nusseibeh said on Wednesday to Reuters that she wants the United Nations to “restore its role as a problem-solver” in diplomatic disputes. She emphasized that the world needs a Secretary-General who can reassert “commitment to the future of multilateralism.”

The UAE’s official news agency said Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, highlighted Nusseibeh’s background and experience at the United Nations in a letter to the Security Council.

Nusseibeh was the UAE’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations from 2013 until mid-2024, and led her country’s delegation during the UAE’s two-year membership on the Security Council.

Eight other candidates are also in the race. Rebecca Greenspan, the former vice president of Costa Rica, is leading by a small margin in an informal Security Council poll.

In the latest poll, Greenspan and all other candidates received at least two votes against from the Security Council’s five permanent members. Council members are discussing holding a new poll on Friday.