Ambassador Mohamed Abu Shehab has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations. He previously held the position of Deputy Permanent Representative since August 2021, including during the period of the UAE's membership in the Security Council from 2022 to 2023. We look forward to his committed leadership in enhancing our global priorities through cooperation with the United Nations system. Ambassador Mohamed Abu Shehab has been serving as the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN in New York since April 2024. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Permanent Representative from August 2021 to April 2024, which included the period of the UAE's Security Council membership.
Before his appointment in New York, Ambassador Abu Shehab served as the UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the European Union from January 2017 to July 2021. He also held the position of Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017, where his responsibilities included providing strategic analysis on various issues. Mohamed Abu Shehab played an active role in implementing several key projects, most notably the establishment of the UAE Diplomatic Academy and the launch of the "Sawab" Center to counter online extremism, a joint Emirati-American initiative.
Abu Shehab has held several other significant positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director of the American and Pacific Affairs Department from 2012 to 2013. He also chaired the Climate Change Section within the Energy and Climate Change Department from 2010 to 2012, leading several state delegations in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, managing the state's participation in the Clean Energy Ministerial, and representing the UAE in the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group of the G20.
At the beginning of his diplomatic career, he spent five years at the UAE's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (2005 – 2010), where he represented the UAE in the work of the First and Second Committees. Ambassador Mohamed Abu Shehab holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from The American University in Washington and is passionate about art, design, and travel. He enjoys playing padel tennis and ice skating. He is married to H.E. Amna Al Suwaidi, the Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in New York, and they have four children.
