Meena Syed

Senior Adviser

Selection of the next Secretary-General and Security Council Reform

[September – December 2016]

Meena Syed is senior adviser responsible for the process of selection and appointment of the next UN Secretary-General in the Office of the President of the 71^st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. She is also responsible for the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly, including Security Council reform.

Meena is a career diplomat and has served at the Permanent Mission of Norway twice (2005-2007 and 2011-2015), most recently as counsellor responsible for the Security Council and the Middle East, as well as human rights issues in the Security Council. In addition to dealing with the Middle East, North Africa and Ukraine, she has been responsible for issues relating to the reform and the working methods of the Security Council. She has previously also worked as the human rights delegate at the Mission of Norway, responsible for the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

Meena previously worked in the cabinet of the President of the 70^th Session of the GA, covering issues related to the selection of the Secretary-General, Security Council Reform and Human Rights.

Meena has previously served at the Norwegian Representative office to the Palestinian Authority, and has worked in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ legal department and section for peace and reconciliation.

Meena has a cand. jur. in law from the University of Oslo and a M.A. in Human Rights from Columbia University, New York.

Meena speaks English, Spanish and Norwegian.