Executive Director
Biography
Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
UNFPA Executive Director, UN Under-Secretary-General
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Thoraya Ahmed Obaid was appointed as Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, effective 1 January 2001, making her the first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency. She has the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Ms. Obaid has a long and distinguished career at the United Nations. She has worked for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 1975 to 1998, where she rose to the rank of Deputy Executive Secretary. In 1998, she moved to UNFPA as Director of the then-Division for Arab States and Europe, occupying that position until 2001, when she assumed her current post.
Ms. Obaid is the first Saudi Arabian woman to receive a government scholarship to a university in the United States, in 1963. She has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
Ms. Obaid has received many awards and honours. She was ranked among the 50 Most Powerful Arab Women by Forbes magazine in 2004. She is also profiled as one of 100 Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture in Notable Muslims, a book published in Oxford, England, in 2006.
Throughout her career, Ms. Obaid has championed the causes of women’s and young people’s health and empowerment. Her work focuses on supporting governments to establish programmes to empower women and develop their capacities as citizens with rights and responsibilities. She has also emphasized the importance of promoting development through a culturally sensitive approach, working within the context of each society, and taking into consideration cultural values and religious beliefs that shape people and affect their actions. As UNFPA Executive Director, she has introduced a focus on culture to the Fund’s development work, linking gender, universal values of human rights and values of the human worth promoted by all religions and found in all cultures.
Ms. Obaid is married and has two daughters.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, 1974, English Literature, with minor in Cultural Anthropology
- M.A. Wayne State University, 1968, English Literature, with minor in Cultural Anthropology
- B.A. Mills College, Oakland, California, 1966, English Literature, with minor in Sociology
- Pre-university education at American College for Girls, Cairo, Egypt, 1951–1962
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
- Director, Division for Arab States and Europe, UNFPA, New York, 1998–2000
- Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), 1993-1998
- Chief, Social Development and Population Division, ESCWA, 1992–1993
- Senior Social Affairs Officer/Women and Development Programme Manager, ESCWA, 1986-1992
- Social Affairs Officer/Programme Manager for Women and Development, ESCWA, 1981-1986
- Assistant/Associate Social Affairs Officer, Women and Development, ESCWA, 1975-1981
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS/APPOINTMENTS
- Served as Chair of the High-level Committee on Management of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), from 2006 through 2008. The Committee is the principal United Nations inter-agency body for coordinating administrative and management matters, especially in relation to financial, human resources, information and communications technology issues
- Represented Secretary-General in United Nations Relief Works Agency Provident Fund, 1996–1998
- Member, United Nations Inter-agency Gender Mission to Afghanistan, November 1997
- Member, United Nations Strategic Framework Mission to Afghanistan, September-October 1997
- Chair, Inter-agency Task Force on Gender, Amman, Jordan, 1996
- Member, Editorial Board of Journal of Arab Women, 1984-1990
- Member, Working Group for Formulating the Arab Strategy for Social Development, League of Arab States, 1984-1985
OTHER ACTIVITIES
- Coordinator, ESCWA Group on Women, 1989-1990M
- Member, Al-Nahdha Women’s Philanthropic Association, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Founding member, Association for Working Mothers, Sidon, Lebanon, 1974-1982
AWARDS AND HONOURS
- Louis B. Sohn Human Rights Award, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), Washington D.C., 2009A 2009 Louis B Rights Award
- Distinguished Alumni Award; Wayne State University, in recognition of outstanding achievement and service, May 2008
- Profiled as one of 100 Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture in Notable Muslims, an Oxford-published book by Natana DeLong-Bas, Deputy Editor for The Encyclopedia of the Islamic World and editor for The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, 2006
- Commemorative Medal from Bulgaria,' 60 Years UN, 50 Years Bulgaria in the UN’, November 2006
- Order of Dionisio de Herrera for Service to Humanity, for supporting the integration of a course on the protection of women victims of domestic violence in the curriculum of all police training institutions in Honduras, May 2005.
- Rated among 50 most powerful Arab Women by Forbes magazine, December 2004
- Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Kwansei Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan, for contributions to the advancement of culture, May 2004
- Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care, Columbia University, New York, May 2003. Granted for leadership in advancing health care for women around the world and dedication to empowering women and furthering their reproductive rights to improve their health
- Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Award, highest honour by Nicaragua’s Parliament or President, March 2003
- Medal and Key to the City of Managua, Nicaragua, given by the Mayor of the City of Santiago of Managua, for notable work on behalf of peace and development and her very important work to help extremely poor populations, March 2003
- Doctor of Laws degree, Mills College, Oakland, California, for commitment to serving people in developing countries to achieve basic education, health and economic opportunities, May 2002
- Global Philanthropy Forum: Borderless Giving, in recognition of her contribution to the Forum, March 2002
- George P. Younger Award by the Committee of Religious Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations, for courage in bringing culture and religion into United Nations dialogue, May 2002
- Award from Wagner School of Public Health, New York University, for outstanding commitment to global public service, July 2001.