Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein was the human rights chief of the United Nations from 2014-2018. He was awarded the Stockholm Human Rights Award in 2015 and the Human Rights Tulip in 2018. He is currently the president and CEO of the International Peace Institute and Perry World House Professor of the Practice of Law and Human Rights at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2019, he was appointed a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders working for peace, justice, and human rights, founded by Nelson Mandela. He served twice as Jordan’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York and once as Jordan’s ambassador to the United States.

In January 2014, Zeid served as president of the UN Security Council and earlier, in 2002, was elected the first president of the governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC), guiding the court's growth in its first three years (2002-2005). He also represented Jordan twice before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). From 1994-1996, he served as a UN civilian peacekeeper with UNPROFOR. Zeid holds degrees from Johns Hopkins and Cambridge universities.