A career spanning public service, scholarship, and dialogue

H.E. Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi’s career spans more than three decades in public service, education, security, and international dialogue. As Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the UAE Federal National Council, he contributes to parliamentary deliberations on national security and international relations. His parliamentary diplomacy also draws on his previous service as Vice-President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

His career in education began at United Arab Emirates University, where he joined the College of Education in 1991. He subsequently served as Assistant Dean for Research from 1992 to 1994, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs from 1994 to 1999, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 1999 to 2004. In 2006, he was appointed Adviser to the UAE Minister of Education, before becoming Vice-Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University in 2012.

He later served as Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University. His education leadership also included serving as Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council and subsequently as Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. He also served as a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. These appointments brought together university leadership, education policy, and institutional development.

His work has included initiatives to counter violent extremism and promote dialogue. As founding chairman of Hedayah’s International Steering Board, he helped develop an international institution dedicated to countering extremism and violent extremism through research, education, and community engagement. He previously held this chairmanship; Hedayah appointed a new chairman in February 2026.

He served as the first Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, established in 2014 to bring together Muslim scholars and leaders to promote peace and address division. His institutional work also includes the World Council of Muslim Communities, established in 2018 to support Muslim communities, integration, and social cohesion.

Dr. Al Nuaimi has publicly supported the Abraham Accords as a means of advancing regional peace and dialogue. His engagement has included visits to Israel, addresses to the Knesset, and dialogue with international partners, including the Anti-Defamation League, with an emphasis on strengthening relationships between communities alongside diplomatic agreements.

In 2023, his work in coexistence and interfaith dialogue expanded through the Manara Center for Coexistence and Dialogue in Abu Dhabi. As its chairman, he has supported initiatives focused on dialogue, education, and countering hatred, reflecting an approach to peace that extends beyond agreements to sustained engagement between people and institutions.

His academic background includes undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Portland State University and a doctorate from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud University. His career brings together academic experience, institutional leadership, and parliamentary diplomacy in support of education, dialogue, and coexistence.