Thoraya Obaid
(Saudi Arabia)

Thoraya Obaid is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Population Fund. The first Saudi national to be appointed head of a UN agency, she was previously Director of the Fund’s Division for Arab States and Europe, as well as Deputy Executive Secretary for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Thoraya Obaid holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Michigan and was the first Saudi woman to receive a government scholarship to study in the U.S. Throughout her career, she has focused on helping governments establish programs to empower women and has emphasized the significance of culture and religion to development.

http://www.unfpa.org/ed/bio.htm