Thoraya Obaid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations [1]. 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 on 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.

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. 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.

[edit] Education

Ph.D. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, 1974, English literature, with minor in cultural anthropology
M.A. Wayne State University, 1968, English Literature, with minor in Cultural Anthropology
B.A. Mills College, Oakland, California, 1966, English Literature, with minor in Sociology
Pre-university education at American College for Girls, Cairo, Egypt, 1951–1962

[edit] 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

[edit] Awards and honors

Order of Dionisio de Herrera 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 Honduras, May 2005.

Rated among 50 most powerful Arab Women by Forbes magazine, December 2004

Doctor of Laws degree, Kwansei Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan, for contributions to the advancement of culture, May 2004

Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care, Columbia University, New York, 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 Nicaragua’s Parliament or President, March 2003

Medal and Key to the City of Managua, Nicaragua, 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