RELATED PROJECT
Maternal Mortality
As part of its multi-year survey of critical issues at the intersection of religion and development supported by the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs, the Berkley Center is holding events and developing publications and web resources focused on maternal mortality, the...
read more >>
RELATED PROJECT
Practitioners and Faith-Inspired Development
"What is the role of faith in your work?" This series of more than 200 interviews, made possible through the support of the Henry R. Luce Foundation, asks this fundamental question of leaders in the development field. The assembled in-depth conversations with activists and policy specialists...
read more >>
AT THE CENTER
ALL INTERVIEWEES
> Abdikadir Hussein Mohamed> Mohammed Abu-Nimer
> Agnes Abuom
> Swami Agnivesh
> Diane Aker
> Milton Amayun
> Wisdom Shelter Ameku
> Husnul Amin
> Hady Amr
> Joan Anderson
> Agnes Appiah
> R. Scott Appleby
> Luis Arancibia
> Mona Atia
> Moulana Abul Kalam Azad
> Oscar Azmitia
> Roksana Bahramitash
> Douglas Balfour
> Kingsley Bangwell
> Fayyaz Baqir
> Marguerite Barankitse
> Douglas Bassett
> David Beckmann
> Noureddine Benmalek
> Ela Bhatt
> Alejandro Bilbao
> Andrea Blanch
> Welmoet Boender
> Maha Sangharajah Thipati Bour Kry
> Virginia M. Bouvier
> Phil Bowden
> Barrett Brenton
> Patrice Brodeur
> Nhek Buntha
> Gideon Byamugisha
> Omer Caha
> George Carey
> Stephen Carr
> Keshab Chaulagain
> Tariq Cheema
> Sarah Chhin
> Agatha Chikelue
> Joan Chittister
> Amadou Boubacar Cissé
> Jose Luis Clemente
> Denise Coghlan
> Mvume Dandala
> Agneta Dau Valler
> Sylvia Dávila
> Etienne De Jonghe
> Patricia DeBoer
> Robin Denney
> Marie Dennis
> Visaka Dharmadasa
> Frank Dimmock
> Jacques Dinan
> Phramaha Boonchuay Doojai
> Deborah Dortzbach
> Joyce Dubensky
> Haidy Ear-Dupuy
> Aicha Ech-Channa
> Hany El-Banna
> Scilla Elworthy
> Ashley Evans
> Father Enrique Figaredo
> Emily Fintel
> Mari Fitzduff
> Kpakilé Félémou
> Rajmohan Gandhi
> Thomas Getman
> Ulrike Gilbert-Nandra
> Mario Giro
> Marc Gopin
> Peter Grant
> Audu Grema
> Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda
> Olcott Gunasekera
> Peter Gyallay-Pap
> Francis Halder
> Michiel Hardon
> Muhammed Haron
> Susan Hayward
> Heng Cheng
> Qamar-ul Huda
> Samia Huq
> Adam Hutchinson
> Dekha Ibrahim
> Barbara Ibrahim
> Saad Eddin Ibrahim
> Gabriel Byong Young Je
> Ari Johnson
> Thomas Laird Jones
> Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana
> Musimbi Kanyoro
> Kim Hourn Kao
> Azza Karam
> Ted Karpf
> Ashima Kaul
> Suhrob Khaitov
> Rob Kilpatrick
> Tatiana Kotova
> Kathleen Kuehnast
> Carol Lancaster
> Nigussu Legesse
> Jørn Lemvik
> Pakorn Lertsatienchai
> Emma Leslie
> John Lewis
> Bernhard Liese
> Maryann Cusimano Love
> Gerlinda Lucas
> Lyn Lusi
> Richard Marsh
> Valeria Martano
> Maguid A. Maruhom
> Rabia Mathai
> Theodore McCarrick
> Patrick McDonald
> Marilyn McMorrow
> Dena Merriam
> Ruth Messinger
> Heng Monychenda
> Abdul Mukti
> Andrew Natsios
> Zilda Arns Neumann
> William O'Keefe
> Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
> Olusegun Obasanjo
> Filiz Odabas-Geldiay
> Jacqueline Moturi Ogega
> Ted Olbrich
> Dele Olowu
> Manal Omar
> Robert Paarlberg
> John Padwick
> Prom Pauv
> Dominique Peccoud
> Ana Victoria Peláez Ponce
> Marie Juul Petersen
> Kathryn Poethig
> James Pond
> Cedric Prakash
> Alvaro Ramazzini
> Mamphela Ramphele
> Amina Rasul-Bernardo
> William Recant
> Patrick Reese
> Gene Reeves
> Albeiro Rodas
> Elana Rozenman
> Sam Ruteikara
> Mohamed Sahnoun
> Trihadi Saptoadi
> Muhammad Amjad Saqib
> Shanti Sattler
> Theary Seng
> Bedreldin Shutta
> Wihane Sibounheuang
> Juan Silva
> Emmy Simmons
> Baba Iqbal Singh
> Sulak Sivaraksa
> David Smock
> Farina So
> Jeffrey Solomon
> Cornelio Sommaruga
> Hoeurn Somnieng
> Loun Sovath
> Gunnar Stalsett
> David Steinberg
> Helen Sworn
> Afeefa Syeed
> Elías Szczytnicki
> Homa Sabet Tavangar
> Lim Teck Ghee
> Schuyler Thorup
> Karen Torjesen
> Wendy Tyndale
> Farida Vahedi
> Rosalina Tuyuc Velásquez
> Corina Villacorta
> Robert Vitillo
> Kim Vuth
> Mark Webster
> Stephen Weir
> Fadlullah Wilmot
> Carolyn Woo
> James Wuye
> C.M. Yogi
> Yos Hut Khemacaro
> Hasan Ali Yurtsever
> Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf
> Batir Zalimov
> Paul Zintl
> Gerrie ter Haar
> Lisette van der Wel
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid
The first Saudi Arabian to head a United Nations agency, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid served as Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the world's largest multilateral source of population assistance, from 2001-10. Since January 2011 she has been board chair of the Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace. She previously served as Deputy Executive Secretary for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 1993-98; Chief of the Social Development and Population Division, ESCWA, from 1992-93; and Social Affairs Officer, responsible for the advancement of women, from 1975-92. Working with governments to establish programs to empower women and working with women's NGOs to advocate for equality have been a central focus of Obaid's work, both at ESCWA and UNFPA. She has a doctorate degree in English Literature and Cultural Anthropology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
INTERVIEWS
A Discussion with Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA
November 24, 2010
Background: Thoraya Obaid and Katherine Marshall sat down to reflect on Dr. Obaid's engagement with faith actors during a UN staff workshop in Turin, Italy in November 2010. In addition to discussing the upcoming stages of her career, after she leaves UNFPA in December 2010, the conversation...