Riyad H. Mansour (born 21 May 1947) is a

Palestinian-American Palestinian Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. There are around 160,000 Palestinian American refugees according to the 2023 American Community Survey, making up around 0.05% of the U.S. population. Th ...

diplomat and since 2005 has been the Permanent Observer of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

.New Permanent Observer of Palestine Presents Appointment Letter.
United Nations Press Release, October 5, 2005 Previous to Mansour's appointment to Permanent Observer, Mansour served as the Deputy Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations from 1983 to 1994. In 2005,

President of the Palestinian National Authority The president of the Palestinian National Authority () is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). From 2003 to 2013, the president appointed the prime minister of the Pa ...

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

appointed him to succeed

Nasser al-Qudwa Nasser Al Qudwa, also spelled Nasser Al-Kidwa,Former Ambassadors
, Permanent Observ ...

as Permanent Observer for Palestine to the UN. Under Mansour, the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations changed from being an "entity" to being a "

non-Member Observer State The United Nations General Assembly has granted observer status to international organizations, entities, and non-member states, to enable them to participate in the work of the United Nations General Assembly, though with limitations. The General ...

" on 29 November 2012.

Early life and education

Mansour's father moved to the United States in the 1950s as a refugee and became a steelworker in Ohio. He later sent for his seven children from the West Bank, including Riyad, who was born on 21 May 1947. The

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

family lived in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

Occupied West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and a Master of Science degree in education counselling from

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

, and a Ph.D in counselling from the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

.Ambassador, Permanent Observer Mission Of The State of Palestine to the United Nations, (Retrieved December 21, 2014).
/ref> In 2002, Mansour served as an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Statements on the Gaza war

Mansour has stated that events of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

amounted to "the most documented genocide in history". On September 2024, He was given a new seat at the UN General Assembly after a vote. On 28 May 2025, While recounting killed children in Gaza, Mansour broke down, banged the UN Security Council table and said: "This is unbearable, how could anyone?" before relooking at the list and eventually maintaining composure.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansour, Riyad H. 1947 births Living people Youngstown State University alumni University of Akron alumni American diplomats Permanent observers of Palestine to the United Nations University of Central Florida faculty People from Ramallah Palestinian refugees Ambassadors of Palestine to Costa Rica

Early life and education

Statements on the Gaza war

See also

References

External links