Thoraya Obaid

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (Arabic: ثريا عبيد, romanized: Thurayyā ʻUbayd; born 2 March 1945) is a Saudi politician and diplomat who served as executive director of the United Nations Population Fund from 2000 to 2010.

[1] Her father Ahmed Obaid was a Saudi journalist and scholar of classical Arabic, and she has said that he was "something of a dissident for his era".

[1][5] Obaid joined the staff of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in 1975 and became its deputy executive secretary before moving in 1998 to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as director of its Division for Arab States and Europe.

She became the executive director of UNFPA in 2001 and held the position until 2010, with the status of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

[7] Obaid was awarded the United Nations Population Award for 2105 in the individual category, the citation referring to "her outstanding dedication and commitment to raising awareness of population issues, with a particular focus on the rights and empowerment of women, girls and young people, including successfully advocating for the expansion of the Millennium Development Goals to address maternal health and save the lives of women".