Zaki Nusseibeh: The Man Behind Decades of UAE Culture and Diplomacy

Introduction

Zaki Nusseibeh has watched the United Arab Emirates change from its earliest years into the country people know today.

He was there early.

His government career started in Abu Dhabi before the UAE itself was founded in 1971. Over the years, he worked as a journalist, interpreter, government official, adviser, minister and cultural figure.

One part of his story stands out. Nusseibeh spent decades working closely with Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder and first President of the UAE. He served as Sheikh Zayed’s personal interpreter and adviser from the late 1960s until 2004.

His work later moved heavily into culture, diplomacy and education.

As of September 2026, Zaki Nusseibeh serves as Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE and Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University.

Quick Facts About Zaki Nusseibeh

Fact	Details
Full Name	Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh
Arabic Name	زكي أنور نسيبة
Born	1946
Birthplace	Jerusalem
Education	Queens’ College, University of Cambridge
Field of Study	Economics
Current Role	Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE
University Role	Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University
Former Position	UAE Minister of State
Father	Anwar Nusseibeh
Mother	Nuzha Al Ghoussein
Children	Lana, Dyala and Anwar Nusseibeh
Main Career Areas	Government, culture, diplomacy, media and education
Government Service	Began in Abu Dhabi in 1968

Who Is Zaki Nusseibeh?

Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh is a senior cultural adviser, former UAE Minister of State and long-serving government official.

Basically, his career reaches back to the period before the UAE federation was created.

He started government work in Abu Dhabi in 1968. His later career connected him closely with Sheikh Zayed, federal government institutions, foreign affairs, cultural organisations and universities.

His work has often sat between different worlds: government and culture, Arabic and European languages, education and diplomacy.

That combination became a major part of his public career.

Zaki Nusseibeh’s Early Life

Zaki Nusseibeh was born in Jerusalem in 1946.

His father was Anwar Nusseibeh, a Palestinian-Jordanian politician, diplomat and public official. His mother was Nuzha Al Ghoussein.

The family lived through a difficult period in Palestinian history. Events surrounding the 1948 Arab-Israeli war affected both sides of his family and caused displacement.

Nusseibeh spent part of his early education in Jerusalem.

He attended St. George’s School, an Anglican school in the city.

Later, he moved to Britain.

Education in Britain

Nusseibeh attended Rugby School in Warwickshire, England.

He later entered Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge.

There, he studied economics and completed his degree in 1967.

His university years were not limited to classes.

While at Cambridge, he took part in discussions about Arab politics and helped create an Arab Society where students could meet speakers and discuss major issues affecting the region.

Then came 1967.

The Six-Day War changed his plans. Returning to Jerusalem was no longer a simple option.

His next move would shape almost his entire working life.

He went to Abu Dhabi.

Moving to Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi in the late 1960s looked very different from the city that exists now.

Nusseibeh arrived there after completing his studies.

At first, he worked as a freelance journalist. His work included reporting connected with British and Arabic media, with public profiles naming outlets such as The Economist, Financial Times and BBC Arabic Service.

Then a major opportunity appeared.

In April 1968, Nusseibeh interviewed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for a British documentary and translated the conversation from Arabic into English.

That meeting helped open a new career path.

Soon afterward, he joined the Abu Dhabi government.

His First Government Roles

Nusseibeh worked with the Abu Dhabi Civil Service Authority from 1968 to 1969.

He then became Director of Research and Documentation at the Abu Dhabi Department of Information.

Media was growing quickly.

Nusseibeh worked during the early development of Abu Dhabi’s newspapers and broadcasting services. His public career record links him with the establishment of early media operations, including the Arabic newspaper Al-Ittihad, which started in 1969.

In 1972, his responsibilities grew.

He became Director of Information at the UAE Federal Ministry of Information.

His work covered press activities, broadcasting, publications, translation and communication.

Working With Sheikh Zayed

This became one of the longest chapters of his career.

Nusseibeh served as a personal interpreter and adviser to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan from the late 1960s until Sheikh Zayed’s death in 2004.

In 1975, he became Director of the Press Office in Sheikh Zayed’s Diwan.

The job went far beyond translating words.

He accompanied Sheikh Zayed during official meetings and international visits. He worked around foreign leaders and delegations and helped communication move clearly between different languages and cultures.

That required trust.

It also placed Nusseibeh close to major events during the UAE’s early decades.

After Sheikh Zayed’s death, Nusseibeh continued government service and later worked as a cultural adviser during the presidency of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Work in Culture and Heritage

Culture became a bigger part of his career during the 2000s.

From 2006 to 2012, Nusseibeh served as Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

He then served on the board of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture between 2012 and 2016.

During this period, Abu Dhabi was investing heavily in museums, heritage programmes, international cultural ties and major arts projects.

Nusseibeh worked within that wider cultural programme.

His roles also connected him with work surrounding Abu Dhabi’s developing cultural institutions and Saadiyat Cultural District.

Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

Education was another big part of his public work.

Nusseibeh helped establish Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in 2006.

The university was created through cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Sorbonne University in Paris.

He later became Chairman of its Board of Trustees in 2018 and remained in that position until September 2022.

His involvement shows a pattern seen across much of his career: connecting UAE institutions with established international cultural and educational organisations.

Foreign Ministry Career

In 2016, Nusseibeh became an Assistant Minister in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The following year brought another promotion.

He was appointed UAE Minister of State in 2017.

While working within the ministry, he established and managed its Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy.

The idea was fairly clear.

International relationships are built through government discussions, but culture, books, art, education and direct human contact can help countries understand each other too.

Nusseibeh had spent much of his career working in exactly that space.

UAE Minister of State

Zaki Nusseibeh served as Minister of State from 2017 until 2021.

His ministerial work remained closely connected with international relations and cultural diplomacy.

In February 2021, a UAE government reshuffle changed his role.

He left the ministerial position and was appointed Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE.

At the same time, he received the UAE Order of the Union for his service in cultural and diplomatic work.

He still holds the cultural adviser position in 2026.

Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University

Nusseibeh was appointed Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University, commonly called UAEU, in 2020.

He continues in that role.

UAEU is one of the country’s main higher education institutions and was established in 1976.

As Chancellor, Nusseibeh has taken part in university governance, research programmes, academic events, cultural projects and discussions about the future of higher education.

He remained publicly active throughout 2026.

In August 2026, UAEU identified him as Cultural Adviser to the President and Chancellor while marking Emirati Women’s Day.

He also appeared in the same roles during UAEU’s programme at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in September 2026.

Zaki Nusseibeh and Cultural Diplomacy

Cultural diplomacy is probably the easiest way to understand much of Nusseibeh’s later career.

He sees culture as part of international communication.

That includes books.

It includes art and music.

Education matters too.

During his Foreign Ministry work, he helped build a formal government office around this idea. His later speeches and public work have continued to cover cultural exchange, tolerance, universities, literature and international dialogue.

His own background fits the subject well.

He grew up in Jerusalem, studied in Britain, built his career in Abu Dhabi and speaks several languages.

Languages Spoken by Zaki Nusseibeh

Nusseibeh is known for his language skills.

Public institutional profiles list Arabic, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish among the languages he speaks.

He has also studied Russian.

His language ability had a practical use throughout his early government career, particularly during his decades working as an interpreter.

Books and Personal Library

Honestly, one detail says a lot about his interests.

Books.

Nusseibeh has collected them for decades.

A 2017 interview reported that he had arrived in Abu Dhabi with roughly 100 books and eventually built a personal collection numbering more than 40,000 volumes.

A later profile from the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques described his library as containing around 50,000 books.

His reading interests stretch across literature, history, politics, poetry, philosophy, religion and art.

He has also translated Arab and Gulf poetry into European languages.

Art Collection

Books are not his only collecting interest.

Nusseibeh has built a sizeable art collection too.

It has a strong focus on art from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, alongside European works.

Public records from cultural institutions have associated his collection with artists including Baya Mahieddine, Sliman Mansour, Hassan Sharif, Farhad Moshiri and M. F. Husain.

A profile published by the Institut de France has described the wider collection as containing more than 400 works.

For Nusseibeh, collecting appears closely tied to his interest in culture rather than simply ownership.

Love of Classical Music

Classical music has remained another long-running interest.

Nusseibeh has been involved with music programmes including Abu Dhabi Classics and the Al Ain Music Festival.

He has also held roles connected with organisations dedicated to German composer Richard Wagner.

Opera is another personal interest.

Interviews over the years have described his attendance at international opera performances and his large recorded music collection.

Family

Zaki Nusseibeh is married and has three children: Lana, Dyala and Anwar Nusseibeh.

Reliable public sources reviewed for this profile do not clearly confirm his wife’s name, so it is better not to publish one as fact.

His daughter Lana Nusseibeh has built a major diplomatic career of her own. She served for years as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and later became a UAE Minister of State.

His daughter Dyala Nusseibeh works in the arts and has served as Director of Abu Dhabi Art.

Far less verified public information is available about his son Anwar.

Awards and Honours

Nusseibeh has received honours from the UAE and several other countries during his long public career.

Some of his documented honours include:

• UAE Order of the Union — 2021
• UAE Order for Culture and Creativity — 2024
• Abu Dhabi Award — 2007
• Cultural Diplomat of the Year — 2017
• Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Personality of the Year — 2018
• Kennedy Center Gold Medal in the Arts — 2014
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) — 2013
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) — 1989
• Officer of the French Legion of Honour — 2015
• Commander of the French National Order of Merit — 2022
• Commander’s Cross of the German Order of Merit — 2013
• Polish Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture — 2010
• Abu Dhabi Cultural Personality and other cultural honours

He also received an honorary doctorate in Human Sciences from Al-Quds University in Jerusalem in 2014.

International Memberships and Cultural Organisations

His work has reached beyond UAE government institutions.

In 2020, he was elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In September 2021, he was elected a foreign associate of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, part of France’s Institut de France.

He has also held or previously held positions connected with institutions such as the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, International Prize for Arabic Fiction, Institut du Monde Arabe, Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, Aga Khan Museum and London School of Economics Middle East Centre.

Writing and Published Work

Nusseibeh has written about culture, diplomacy and the history of the UAE.

He has also worked with translations of Arab poetry.

One documented book is the Arabic-language work Sheikh Zayed and Salem bin Ham: A Companionship with a History, presented at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in 2019.

The book looks at the relationship between Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Salem bin Ham Al Ameri.

Nusseibeh has also published articles and public essays dealing with culture, education, diplomacy and literature.

What Is Zaki Nusseibeh Doing Now?

As of September 2026, Zaki Nusseibeh remains:

Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE

and

Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University.

Recent UAEU records continue to identify him using both titles.

He remains involved in public events connected with books, universities, culture, research and education.

His government career has now lasted for more than five decades.

That is rare.

Final Thought

Zaki Nusseibeh’s public career started before the UAE became a federation.

That fact gives his story a very different scale.

He arrived in Abu Dhabi as a young Cambridge graduate, worked in journalism, joined the government and became a trusted interpreter to Sheikh Zayed. Later came senior government posts, cultural work, foreign affairs, university leadership and international academic recognition.

Culture stayed close throughout.

So did education.

More than five decades after joining the Abu Dhabi government, Nusseibeh remains active in UAE public life, now mainly through cultural and academic work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Zaki Nusseibeh?

Zaki Nusseibeh is a UAE cultural adviser, former Minister of State, diplomat and education leader. He currently serves as Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE and Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University.

When was Zaki Nusseibeh born?

He was born in 1946 in Jerusalem. Reliable sources reviewed for this article do not provide a confirmed exact birth date.

How old is Zaki Nusseibeh?

Because his exact birth date is not publicly confirmed by the reliable sources used here, he would be 79 or 80 years old in 2026, depending on whether his birthday has passed.

Where did Zaki Nusseibeh study?

He attended St. George’s School in Jerusalem and Rugby School in England before studying economics at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge.

What does Zaki Nusseibeh do now?

As of September 2026, he is Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE and Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University.

Did Zaki Nusseibeh work with Sheikh Zayed?

Yes. He worked as Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s personal interpreter and adviser from the late 1960s until 2004.

Was Zaki Nusseibeh a UAE minister?

Yes. He served as UAE Minister of State from 2017 until 2021.

Who are Zaki Nusseibeh’s children?

His publicly documented children are Lana Nusseibeh, Dyala Nusseibeh and Anwar Nusseibeh.

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