Ambassador Zeid previously served as Jordan’s permanent representative (2000-07) and deputy permanent representative (1996-2000) to the United Nations. An expert in international justice, Prince Zeid played a central role in the establishment of the International Criminal Court. In September 2002, he was elected the first president of the governing body of the International Criminal Court, at a time when the court was only a plan on paper, overseeing the court’s growth during the next three years.

He has also been active in other legal issues, including chairing the Ad Hoc Committee on the Scope of Legal Protection under the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, as well as serving as chairman of the Panel of Experts for the U.N. Secretary-General’s Trust Fund to Assist States in the Settlement of Disputes Through the International Court of Justice. Prince Zeid also served as political affairs officer in UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia from 1994 to 1996, and following allegations of widespread abuse by U.N. peacekeepers in 2004, he was appointed advisor to the U.N. secretary-general on sexual exploitation and Abuse. For the last three years, Prince Zeid also chaired the Consultative Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

Prince Zeid holds a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate from Cambridge (Christ’s College).

He is married to Princess Sarah Zeid and has a son and daughter.