Thoraya Obaid (Saudi Arabia) is former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, and currently serves as the Chair of WLP’s Board of Directors.
As UNFPA Executive Director, she introduced a focus on culture to the Fund’s development work, linking gender, universal values of human rights and values of the human worth promoted by all religions and found in all cultures.
A recipient of numerous awards, in 2004 Forbes named her among the world’s 50 most powerful Arab women. Since her retirement, Dr. Obaid has been residing in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.












