Dr. Nayef Obeid is an important academic and scientific figure who worked in decision-making centers in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Obeid hails from a patriotic family in Jabal Al-Arab; he is the son of one of the pillars of the Great Syrian Revolt, the Mujahid Ali Obeid, and the brother of the writer Salama Obeid.
Obeid was born in 1942 in As-Suwayda Governorate and obtained his Master's and PhD degrees in Political Science-International Relations from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He worked as a Senior Researcher at the Court of the President of the United Arab Emirates during the period 1976-1995.
He worked as an expert in political affairs in the Research and Studies Department at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi during the period 1995-2006.
He also worked as a Senior Researcher at the Gulf Research Center and as a visiting consultant to the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and currently serves as the Head of the Research Department at the Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Center.
He has published a number of books and studies in both Arabic and English, including: "The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf: From Cooperation to Integration" (Beirut: Centre for Arab Unity Studies, 1996), "The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in a Changing World," "The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates Between Theory and Practice," "Globalization and the Arabs," "The Global Village: Fact or Fiction," "The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates," "The Iraqi-Iranian Conflict over Shatt al-Arab," and "Gulf Security: Reports and Studies."
He has also conducted a number of applied studies related to public opinion polls and content analysis on a range of issues related to the United Arab Emirates in particular, and the Gulf Cooperation Council states in general, and has carried out a number of translations of various articles from foreign newspapers and magazines.
He has delivered lectures at many universities and research centers.
He has published more than a thousand refereed articles from accredited research centers and has been honored more than once by several centers and bodies, most recently being honored during the Year of Zayed.
