Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad

Biography

Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad bin Zeid al-Hussein was born on January 26, 1964, in Amman, Jordan, into the Hashemite royal family. His father, Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid, is Lord Chamberlain of Jordan, and his mother, Margaretha Inga Elisabeth Lind, is Swedish born and became known as Majda Raad after marriage. This background allowed Zeid to gain insights from both Middle Eastern and European cultures early in life. He studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later completed advanced studies at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

Zeid's diplomatic career took off in the 1990s when he worked as a political affairs officer in UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia from 1994 to 1996, gaining firsthand experience in international peacekeeping during the Bosnian conflict. His skills in international law and human rights led to his being appointed Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 2000, a role he held until 2007. He was crucial in setting up the International Criminal Court and was elected as the first president of the Assembly of State Parties in September 2002.

Between 2007 and 2010, Zeid was Jordan's Ambassador to the United States and non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, building stronger ties between Jordan and North America. He returned as Permanent Representative to the UN in 2010 and served until 2014, when he resigned for a major new role. In August 2014, he became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the first Muslim and Arab to hold this important job.

As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014 to 2018, Zeid made a name for himself by openly challenging powerful nations over human rights issues. He often criticized authoritarian regimes and populist leaders, receiving both praise for his principled views and criticism from governments that felt targeted by his reports. His time in office was marked by efforts to tackle human rights crises in places like Syria and Myanmar, though he often voiced his frustration over the limited international response to mass atrocities.

After his UN service, Zeid moved into academia and became the Perry World House Professor of the Practice of Law and Human Rights at the University of Pennsylvania. He also took charge of the International Peace Institute as president and CEO. In 2019, he was invited to join The Elders, an independent group of global leaders dedicated to peace, justice, and human rights founded by Nelson Mandela. Zeid is married to Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan and is reportedly first in line to the no longer existing thrones of Iraq and the Arab Kingdom of Syria.