The Son Also Rises: The One-Year Anniversary of Mohammed bin Zayed’s Presidency
Balancing family and state-federal dynamics while staying in line with regional tendencies on succession, Mohammed bin Zayed names his son Khaled crown prince.
Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba
President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, AGSIW
Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba is president emeritus and distinguished fellow of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. She served as the founding president of AGSIW from December 10, 2014 until May 24, 2019. Prior to her appointment as president, Wahba led DerMar International, LLC, a consulting firm focused on assisting American businesses seeking to establish or expand their presence in the Middle East. Consulting assignments included PineBridge Investments, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Department of Defense, and Northrop Grumman.
Wahba retired from the U.S. Department of State in May 2008, class of Minister Counselor, after a 22-year career spent mostly in the Middle East. Wahba was confirmed as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in October 2001. She received the White House Presidential Meritorious Service Award for her service in the UAE and was decorated with the UAE’s Order of Independence. Her Washington assignments included serving at the Pentagon as the foreign affairs advisor to the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and as the deputy at the National War College of the National Defense University at Fort McNair.
Wahba graduated from Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in international relations. She received a Diploma in National Security from the National War College, National Defense University, Washington, DC in June 2006.
Wahba is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the board of CIEE, and is on the board of advisors to the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Speeches
Keynote Address of Women in Energy Conference hosted by ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 16, 2017
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Contemporary Female Voices in the UAE Art Sphere
On Tuesday September 27, AGSIW and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington, DC co-hosted a panel discussion featuring the curator and artists participating in the exhibition: “While the Coffee Grounds Settle: Stories from Women in the UAE.”
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Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan: The Unassuming Leader Who Laid the Infrastructure for the UAE’s Transformation to a Modern State
Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba, AGSIW president emeritus and former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, reflects on the rule of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, following the May 13 death of the UAE's president.
Gulf-Palestinian Relations After the Abraham Accords
On November 5, AGSIW hosted a virtual panel discussion on the future of Gulf-Palestinian relations.
UAE Security Forum 2018: "Yemen after the War: Addressing the Challenges of Peace and Reconstruction"
For the third consecutive year, AGSIW convened the UAE Security Forum, where U.S., UAE, and regional partners gather to find creative solutions to some of the region’s most pressing challenges.
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Welcome to the New AGSIW.org!
AGSIW is pleased to present our newly redesigned website.
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Social and Economic Transformation in the Gulf Has Already Begun, but It Remains in Its Early Stages
It is increasingly clear that energy resources and revenues alone cannot sustain Gulf Arab economies and societies for the long term.
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Can the US Engage Effectively in Today's Middle East?
The Middle East is undergoing a period of profound transition.
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The Role of the Gulf Arab States in a Transforming Middle East
The Middle East finds itself at a moment of profound change.
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Gulf Rift Threatens Region’s Stability
The dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors has now entered its fourth week, causing an uptick in tension throughout the Middle East.
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GCC: A Force for Regional Stability
The Cipher Brief sat down with Marcelle Wahba, President of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, to discuss internal dynamics within the Gulf Cooperation Council.
A Conversation with H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba
On November 29, AGSIW hosted a roundtable with H.E. Yousef Al Otaiba, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, as part of a new AGSIW series, “The Trump Administration and the GCC Countries."
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Cybersecurity is the Gulf's Next Big Challenge
As with much of the rest of the world, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including the UAE, view cybersecurity as a crucial priority.