Zaki Nusseibeh

Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh is a Minister of State in the UAE Government (2017-present). Prior to taking up this role, he served as an Assistant Minister in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2016-2017) and as the Cultural Adviser at the UAE Presidential Court (1975-present). He has been active in government service in the United Arab Emirates since its establishment in (1971-present), and, prior to that, the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (1968-present).

Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh
زكي انور نسيبة
Minister of State
Assumed office
October 2017
PresidentKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Prime MinisterMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Personal details
Born1946 (age 73–74)
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
NationalityEmirati
ChildrenLana Nusseibeh Dyala Nusseibeh
MotherNuzha Al-Ghussein
FatherAnwar Nusseibeh
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge

Biography brief overview

Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, active in government service in the United Arab Emirates since its formation in 1971, and with the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi since 1968, began his second term in July 2020 as a Minister of State in the UAE Government. His portfolio includes the establishment and management of the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, MoFAIC, as a coordinating body committed to international cooperation through cross-cultural dialogue and exchange through the promotion of UAE arts and culture abroad. Its mandate is to enhance understanding of, and affinity for, the UAE’s culture and values, in order to strengthen political, economic and people-to-people cooperation with other countries.

Prior to his current role, Nusseibeh served as an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2016-2017) and as the Cultural Adviser at the UAE Presidential Court, later Ministry of Presidential Affairs (1975-present). From the late 1960s, he also acted as the personal interpreter and adviser to the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (d.2004). He then acted in the same role with his successor UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2004-present).

Early life

Born in Jerusalem, Zaki Nusseibeh was educated at St. George’s School, Jerusalem, and completed his secondary education at Rugby School, Warwickshire, UK. He then attended Queen’s College, University of Cambridge, graduating with an MA (honours) degree in Economics in 1967.

Many of Nusseibeh’s family were displaced during the conflict that led to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. His late mother, Nuzha Al Ghoussein, left with her family from Ramleh in 1948 and her brother, Talat Al Ghoussein, subsequently became Kuwait’s Ambassador to Washington (1970). Nusseibeh’s late father, Anwar Nusseibeh (d. 1986) who had lost a leg during the 1948 war, became active in Jordanian politics, and held a number of cabinet posts in the Jordanian government, including Defence, Interior and Education (1950s), and stood for Parliament as well as serving in the Senate. He was also Governor of Jerusalem (1961), and subsequently Ambassador to the Court of St James (1965).

As a young student in England, Zaki Nusseibeh was involved in Palestinian politics, forming an Arab Society at the University of Cambridge which held debates and invited speakers on topical issues in contemporary Arab politics.

Nusseibeh graduated from Cambridge at the time of the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and a return to Jerusalem was not a feasible option. Instead, on the advice of his father, he travelled to Abu Dhabi, then in the early stages of modern development, with the intention of working for a family-owned construction business recently opened there.

Once settled in Abu Dhabi (1967), he began to work as a freelance journalist for a number of British and Arab publications, including The Economist, The Financial Times and the BBC Arabic Service. He interviewed Sheikh Zayed in April 1968 for a British documentary, translating from Arabic to English. He was subsequently asked to join the Abu Dhabi government, working briefly with the newly-established Civil Service Authority (1968-1969), then moving to Abu Dhabi’s Department of Information as Director of Research and Documentation (1969-1971), helping in establishing Abu Dhabi’s first newspapers in Arabic and English (Al-Ittihad 1969, Abu Dhabi News 1969). He then became Director of Information in the newly formed UAE Federal Ministry of Information (1972-1975).

While at the Ministry of Information, he also worked as an English language broadcaster and programme producer and helped in the planning and development of an information and media strategy for the government. He was also involved in the preparing, editing and translating of all its books and publications.

In 1975, Zaki Nusseibeh became the Director of the Press Office in the Diwan (Court) of Sheikh Zayed, subsequently becoming an Adviser while continuing his role as the President’s personal interpreter. As part of this work, he was involved in the preparation of official state visits and the formulation of government briefs for the President and his senior aides. He also accompanied the President on most of his official visits abroad and took part in the talks held on several Government levels.

The Nusseibeh family

The Nusseibeh family is one of the oldest families in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Family roots

The Nusseibeh boast of a 1,300 year presence in Jerusalem, being descended from Ubayda ibn as-Samit, the brother of Nusaybah bint Ka'ab, a female warrior from the Banu Khazraj of Arabia, and one of the four women leaders of the 14 tribes of early Islam. Ubadya, a companion of Umar ibn al-Khattab, was appointed the first Muslim high judge of Jerusalem after its conquest in 638 C.E., together with an obligation to keep the Holy Rock of Calvary clean.

According to family tradition, they retained an exclusive right to the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre down to the Ottoman period, when the Joudeh family obtained a warrant to share possession. To this day, the Nusseibeh family are said to be trustees, and upon receiving the keys from a member of the Joudeh clan, the Nusseibeh are said to turn them over to the warden of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre around dawn every day.

Art and culture in diplomacy

Zaki Nusseibeh has served on several public and private bodies dealing with the development of cultural and educational strategies in the UAE. He was Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (2006-2012) and a member of the Board of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture (2012-2016), today the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. In this capacity, he contributed to the development of some of Abu Dhabi’s major cultural and art initiatives, such as the Saadiyat Culture District and its leading museums, including the Louvre Museum Abu Dhabi, inaugurated in 2017

Nusseibeh’s publications include translations of Gulf and Arab poetry into several European languages as well as articles in different journals and newspapers.

He has recently published a book in Arabic about a tribal leader who was a close companion to the late Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the United Arab Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Wa Salem Bin Hamm, Rifqat Oumor, Abu Dhabi 2019) .

Affiliations and chairmanships

Zaki Nusseibeh has served on several public and private bodies dealing with the development of cultural and educational strategies in the UAE.

Nusseibeh was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in 2018, having helped to establish the University in 2006 and sitting on its Administrative Board (2006-2018).

He is a member of the Administrative Board of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy with oversight responsibility for its management (2017-present).

He is also a member on several other Boards including the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (2005-present), the International Prize for Arab Fiction, also known as IPAF or Arab Bookers Literary Prize (2009-present), and the Board of Trustees for Abu Dhabi University (2003-present).

He has been the Chair of the UAE National Rhodes Scholarship Selection committee since 2015.

He was elected a member of the Higher Board of Administration of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (2018-present).  

He was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Washington (2020)

Nusseibeh was the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics (2015-2018), as well as a member of the Board of Administrators of the Alliance Française Foundation in Paris (2013-2017).

He was also the President of the Alliance Française Abu Dhabi (1977-2017) and of the UAE Chapter of the International Friends of Richard Wagner Society (2008-present). He helped to establish the Abu Dhabi Classics programme in Abu Dhabi and the Al Ain Music Festival in Al Ain. He was Chair of the Wagner Foundation in Leipzig, Germany (2014-2017) and a member on the Board of Trustees of the Agha Khan Museum in Toronto (2016-2019).

Honors and awards

Zaki Nusseibeh has received a number of Arab and International Awards that include:

  • Beirut Institute Summit Exceptional Excellence Award Personality of the Year (2019).
  • Abu Dhabi Cultural Summit Cultural Diplomat of the Year (2017).
  • The Golden Medal of Arts 2014 from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC (2014).
  • The European Foundation for Culture  “European- Arab Culture Prize” in Leipzig (2013).
  • The Sultan Bin Ali AL Oweis Foundation Cultural Personality of the Year Award UAE (2013).
  • The European Academy of Science and Arts Ring of Tolerance in Frankfurt (2012).
  • Abu Dhabi Award (2007).

He was awarded an honorary PhD in Human Sciences by the Al Quds Arab University in Jerusalem in 2014.

Other awards and honours include:

Personal life

Zaki Nusseibeh is married and has three children, Lana (UAE Permanent Representative at the UN), Dyala (Director of Abu Dhabi Art), and Anwar.

Recent publications

“Culture in the post-Covid19 time.” LinkedIn. July 19, 2020.[3]

[In Arabic] “Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is the icon of hope and giving.” LinkedIn. June 13, 2020.[4]

“Culture must lie at the heart of our response to the Covid-19 crisis.” The National. May 28, 2020.[5]

“Empowering youth.” December 23, 2019. LinkedIn.[6]

[In Arabic] “The role of the UAE in combating extremism.” LinkedIn. December 19, 2019.[7]

“Abu Dhabi’s museums.” LinkedIn. December 16, 2019.[8]

[In Arabic] “The efforts of mothers in the Emirates in supporting the empowerment path of Emirati and Arab women.” LinkedIn. October 10, 2019.[9]

“Cultural diplomacy in the UAE.” LinkedIn. August 22, 2019.[10]

[In Arabic] “Remembering August 6, 1966.” LinkedIn. August 9, 2019.[11]

[In Arabic] “Policies for shared values: Building tolerant societies.” LinkedIn. June 13, 2019.[12]

“Policies for shared values: building tolerant societies.” LinkedIn. June 13, 2019.[13]

[In Arabic] “Tolerance in the Year of Tolerance.” LinkedIn. April 12, 2019.[14]

[In Arabic] “The United Arab Emirates 1971.” LinkedIn. February 2, 2019.[15]

“The UAE in the eyes of the world 1970.” LinkedIn. February 2, 2019.[16]

[In Arabic] “Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan’s vision of development.” LinkedIn. February 2, 2019.[17]

“Abu Dhabi’s Universal Museums.” LinkedIn. January 27, 2019.[18]

“The values of cultural diplomacy.” LinkedIn. January 27, 2019.[19]

“Dialogue with others does not threaten UAE because ‘we know who we are’.” The National. November 15, 2018.[20]

"The UAE culture and values set us apart. It’s time to share them with the world.” The National. July 7, 2018.[21]

  • UAE Cabinet Members - Zaki Nusseibeh[22]
  • Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy (OPCD)[23]
  • MOFAIC - contact the Minister [24]
  • Twitter - HE Zaki Nusseibeh[25]
  • Twitter - OPCD[26]
  • The Nusseibeh family official website[27]
  • Interview by Ricardo Karam - “Tonight’s chat with Zaki Nusseibeh.” The National. June 28, 2020.[28]
  • Talk with Dr Shashi Taroor. “Literary conversations across borders with Zaki Nusseibeh.” Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. May 30, 2020.[29]
  • Interview by Manuela Mirkos - “Leadership lessons from a Renaissance man of Arabia.” LinkedIn. April 12, 2019.[30]
  • Interview by Jonathan Shanin for Bidoun - “Zaki Nusseibeh Before and After.” Bidoun. February 25, 2019.[31]
  • Interview by Anna Somers Cocks - “Louvre Abu Dhabi aims to make up for failed education in the Middle East.” The Art Newspaper. September 25, 2017.[32]
  • "Yesterday and Today: Personal Impressions.” Ramadan lecture by HE Zaki Nusseibeh at the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs. July 1, 2015.[33]

References
  1. "Royal Victorian Order | British knighthood". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  2. "The National Order of Merit | La grande chancellerie". www.legiondhonneur.fr. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  3. "Culture in the post-Covid19 time". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  4. "سمو الشيخة فاطمة بنت مبارك ايقونة الامل و العطاء". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  5. "Culture must lie at the heart of our response to the Covid-19 crisis". The National. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  6. "Empowering Youth". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  7. "دور اماراتي فاعل في محاربة التطرف". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  8. "Au Dhabi's Museums". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  9. "جهودُ أم الإمارات في دعمِ مسيرةِ تمكينِ المرأةِ الإماراتيةِ والعربية". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  10. "Cultural Diplomacy in the UAE". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  11. "ذكرى السادس من اغسطس ١٩٦٦". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  12. "حول سياسات القيم المشتركة: بناء مجتمعات متسامحة". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  13. "Policies for Shared values: Building Tolerant Societies". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  14. "التسامح في عام التسامح". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  15. "الامارات ١٩٧١". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  16. Nusseibeh, Zaki (2019). "The Emirates in the Eyes of the World 1970".
  17. "الرؤية التنموية للشيخ زايد بن سلطان". ae.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  18. Nusseibeh, Zaki (2019). "Abu Dhabi's universal museums — A historic perspective".
  19. "The Values of Cultural Diplomacy". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  20. "Zaki Nusseibeh: dialogue with others does not threaten UAE because 'we know who we are'". The National. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  21. "The UAE's culture and values set us apart. It's time to share them with the world". The National. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  22. "Members Of The Cabinet". uaecabinet.ae. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  23. "Homepage". Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  24. "Minister of State". www.mofaic.gov.ae. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  25. Nusseibeh, Zaki (2020). "Official Twitter Account".
  26. OPCD (2020). "Official Twitter Account".
  27. "Welcome to nuseibeh.org - the official website of the Nuseibeh Family in Jerusalem". www.nuseibeh.org. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  28. "Watch Zaki Nusseibeh on Tonight's Chat with Ricardo Karam". The National. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  29. "Literary Conversations Across Borders". Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy. 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  30. "LESSONS ON LEADERSHIP FROM THE RENAISSANCE MAN OF ARABIA". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  31. Bidoun. "Zaki Nusseibeh: Before and after". Bidoun. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  32. "Louvre Abu Dhabi aims to make up for failed education in the Middle East". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  33. "Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed". www.cpc.gov.ae. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
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