Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein is president of the International Peace Institute and Perry World House professor of the practice of law and human rights, University of Pennsylvania.  

He was United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014-18, and in 2019 was elected to The Elders, a group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.

Zeid served twice as Jordan’s ambassador to the United Nations (in New York from 1996-2007 and 2010-14) and once as Jordan’s ambassador to the United States (2007-10).  

In January 2014, he was president of the UN Security Council and earlier, in 2002, was the first president of the governing body of the International Criminal Court (until 2005). He also served as a UN civilian peacekeeper with UNPROFOR (from 1994-96). He holds degrees from Johns Hopkins and Cambridge universities.