Thoraya Obaid
Encyclopedia
Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund
and an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations
from 2000 to 2010. Obaid is from Saudi Arabia
. The United Nations Population Fund is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Ms Obaid was appointed to her position effective 1 January 2001, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. She is the first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency.
Ms. Obaid also served as Chair of the High-level Committee on Management of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The Committee is the principal United Nations inter-agency body for coordinating administrative and management matters.
From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Obaid was Director, Division for Arab States and Europe, UNFPA. Before joining UNFPA, Ms. Obaid was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 1993 to 1998. She was the Chief of the Social Development and Population Division, ESCWA, from 1992 to 1993, and Social Affairs Officer, responsible for the advancement of women, from 1975 to 1992. A central focus of Ms. Obaid’s work at ESCWA and UNFPA was to cooperate with governments to establish programmes to empower women and develop their capacities as citizens with rights and responsibilities. She has also worked with women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to advocate for women’s equality.
In 1975, Ms. Obaid established the first women’s development programme in Western Asia. The programme helped build partnerships on women’s issues between the United Nations and regional NGOs. Ms. Obaid chaired the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender in Amman, Jordan, in 1996. In November 1997, she was a member of the United Nations Inter-Agency Gender Mission to Afghanistan. Between 1984 and 1985, she was a member of the League of Arab States Working Group for Formulating the Arab Strategy for Social Development.
In 1963, Ms. Obaid became the first Saudi Arabian woman to receive a government scholarship to study at a university in the United States. She has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. She is a member of the Middle East Studies Association and of Al-Nahdha Women’s Philanthropic Association, a Saudi NGO.
Throughout her career, Ms Obaid has emphasized the importance of development that emerges from the context of each society, taking into consideration the cultural values and religious beliefs that shape people and affect their actions. During her tenure as UNFPA Executive Director, she has introduced a special focus on culture and religion in the Fund’s development work, thereby linking universal values of human rights to values of the human worth promoted by all religions and found in all cultures.
United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
and an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
from 2000 to 2010. Obaid is from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The United Nations Population Fund is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Ms Obaid was appointed to her position effective 1 January 2001, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. She is the first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency.
Ms. Obaid also served as Chair of the High-level Committee on Management of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The Committee is the principal United Nations inter-agency body for coordinating administrative and management matters.
From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Obaid was Director, Division for Arab States and Europe, UNFPA. Before joining UNFPA, Ms. Obaid was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 1993 to 1998. She was the Chief of the Social Development and Population Division, ESCWA, from 1992 to 1993, and Social Affairs Officer, responsible for the advancement of women, from 1975 to 1992. A central focus of Ms. Obaid’s work at ESCWA and UNFPA was to cooperate with governments to establish programmes to empower women and develop their capacities as citizens with rights and responsibilities. She has also worked with women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to advocate for women’s equality.
In 1975, Ms. Obaid established the first women’s development programme in Western Asia. The programme helped build partnerships on women’s issues between the United Nations and regional NGOs. Ms. Obaid chaired the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender in Amman, Jordan, in 1996. In November 1997, she was a member of the United Nations Inter-Agency Gender Mission to Afghanistan. Between 1984 and 1985, she was a member of the League of Arab States Working Group for Formulating the Arab Strategy for Social Development.
In 1963, Ms. Obaid became the first Saudi Arabian woman to receive a government scholarship to study at a university in the United States. She has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. She is a member of the Middle East Studies Association and of Al-Nahdha Women’s Philanthropic Association, a Saudi NGO.
Throughout her career, Ms Obaid has emphasized the importance of development that emerges from the context of each society, taking into consideration the cultural values and religious beliefs that shape people and affect their actions. During her tenure as UNFPA Executive Director, she has introduced a special focus on culture and religion in the Fund’s development work, thereby linking universal values of human rights to values of the human worth promoted by all religions and found in all cultures.
Education
- Ph.D.Ph.D.A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
Wayne State UniversityWayne State UniversityWayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 1974, English literature, with minor in cultural anthropologyCultural anthropologyCultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,... - M.A.Master of Arts (postgraduate)A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
Wayne State University, 1968, English LiteratureEnglish literatureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, with minor in Cultural Anthropology - B.A.Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Mills CollegeMills CollegeMills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
, OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 1966, English Literature, with minor in SociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity... - 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
- Appointed by the Secretary-General as Chair of the High-level Committee on Management of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), 1 January 2006. The Committee is the principal United Nations inter-agency body for coordinating administrative and management matters.
- 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, supported by League of Arab States, 1984–1985
Other activities
- Coordinator, ESCWA Group on Women, 1989–1990
- Member, Al-Nahdha Women’s Philanthropic Association, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Founding member, Association for Working Mothers, Sidon, Lebanon, 1974–1982
- Member, Middle East Studies Association
Awards and honors
- 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 HerreraDionisio de HerreraJosé Dionisio de la Trinidad de Herrera y Díaz del Valle was a Liberal Honduran politician, head of state of Honduras from 1824 to 1827 and head of state of Nicaragua from 1830 to 1833. During his terms, Honduras and Nicaragua were states within the Federal Republic of Central America...
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 HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, May 2005.
- Rated among 50 most powerful Arab Women by ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, December 2004
- Doctor of Laws degree, Kwansei Gakuin UniversityKwansei Gakuin University, colloquially abbreviated to , is a non-denominational Christian private and coeducational university located in Nishinomiya, Sanda, Osaka City, and Tokyo, Japan....
, KobeKobe, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, for contributions to the advancement of culture, May 2004
- Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 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 NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
’s Parliament or President, March 2003
- Medal and Key to the City of ManaguaManaguaManagua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, 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 the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, for outstanding commitment to global public service, July 2001.