Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh is the new chancellor of United Arab Emirates University. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh is the new chancellor of United Arab Emirates University. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh is the new chancellor of United Arab Emirates University. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh is the new chancellor of United Arab Emirates University. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Education

Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh appointed chancellor of UAE University

The university is one of the country's best higher education institutions and is in the top 300 globally

Anam Rizvi
Anna Zacharias
UAE

October 20, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh has been appointed as United Arab Emirates University’s new chancellor.

President Sheikh Khalifa issued a decree appointing the minister.

Mr Nusseibeh is the Minister for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation as well as the Cultural Adviser at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

Mr Nusseibeh succeeds Saeed Ahmed Ghobash, the former chancellor of UAE University, which is ranked 284 by international higher education analysts Quacquarelli Symonds.

It was founded by Sheikh Zayed in 1976.

As the chancellor of the university, Mr Nusseibeh will help develop its vision and speak at the annual convocation ceremony.

Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh at Louvre Abu Dhabi with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. Courtesy: Office of Dr Zaki Nusseibeh.
Minister of State Zaki Nusseibeh at Louvre Abu Dhabi with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. Courtesy: Office of Dr Zaki Nusseibeh.

Previously, he was on the board of trustees at the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi.

This year, the minister was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest societies in the US.

Originally from Jerusalem, Mr Nusseibeh arrived in the UAE in 1967 after studying economics at Cambridge in the UK.

He has held important positions in the UAE government since 1968.

When the Arab-Israeli War broke out, he came to Abu Dhabi on the advice of his father.

The war was a brief conflict fought in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

Mr Nusseibeh came to the UAE with a few personal items and about 100 books.

After a brief spell with a family-owned contracting company, he took a job as a stringer for foreign media outlets who had a growing interest in the emerging Gulf states.

This led to work as the translator and adviser of Sheikh Zayed, who would become the country’s founding President when the United Arab Emirates formed in 1971.

Mr Nusseibeh has served at the forefront of Abu Dhabi's cultural development.

He has been a cultural adviser at the Presidential Court since 1975, and founded two classical music festivals.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

EducationUAE