Tuesday 17 June 2014

Prince Zeid elected new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The UN General Assembly has appointed Prince Zeid, former ambassador of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the international body, as its human rights chief based in Geneva on 16th June, making him the first Muslim and Arab to hold the job.

Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
His predecessor as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was the South African lawyer Navi Pillay who held the position since 1st September 2008. Her mandate has been renewed for two years beginning on 1st September 2012.

Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad al-Hussein  was born on 26th January 1964 in Amman, Jordan, to Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid,  present head of the Royal Houses of Iraq and Syria and pretender to the Iraqi throne, and his Swedish-born wife Margaretha Inga Elisabeth Lind, henceforward known as Princess Majda Ra'ad.

Prince Ra'ad was born in Berlin 18th February 1936 where his father Prince Zeid was ambassador of The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. Prince Ra'ad's mother was Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid (Fakhr un-nisa), a Turkish noblewoman. Upon the death of his father on 18th October 1970, Prince Ra'ad inherited the position as head of the Royal Houses of Iraq and Syria.

Both Prince Ra'ad and his son, Prince Zeid, held diplomatic positions for The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and did not publicly press any claims to the thrones of Iraq or Syria, though they are recognised as the head and heir of the royal dynasty of Iraq and Syria.

In April King Abdullah accepted the resignation of HRH Prince Raad bin Zeid from the presidency of the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD).


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