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Nawaf Essam Ahmad Obaid (Arabic: نواف عصام احمد عبید} is an author, academic, philanthropist and a former Saudi Arabian government advisor. He currently serves as the CEO of the Essam & Dalal OBAID Foundation (EDOF) in Geneva, Switzerland. Obaid is also a Commissioner at the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA).

Public Career
Obaid started his public career in February 2003 by being named as a Special Advisor for Strategic Communications to the Saudi Ambassador to the UK and then to the US. Based between London and Washington DC, he held the position until December 2006. Then, in February 2007, he became a Special Advisor to the President of Citizens Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, based between Riyadh and Jeddah. Leaving that position in January 2011, he shortly thereafter became the Counselor for Foreign Media Affairs to the Saudi Minister of Culture and Information in Riyadh. In May 2011 he became the Counselor to the Saudi Ambassador to the UK. He held this position until January 2016.

In 2006, Obaid was fired from the staff of Prince Turki Al Faisal, then Saudi Ambassador to the United States, for publishing an opinion piece in the Washington Post "contending that 'one of the first consequences' of an American pullout of Iraq would 'be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.'" The article also suggested that the Kingdom could cut oil prices in half, which "would be devastating to Iran." While the Saudi government disavowed the piece and Prince Al Faisal cancelled his contract as a result, "Arab diplomats said...that Mr. Obaid’s column reflected the view of the Saudi government, which has made clear its opposition to an American pullout from Iraq."

From September 2014 up to the present, Obaid has also served as CEO of the Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation (EDOF), based in Geneva, Switzerland. EDOF was founded by Obaid and his two brothers to honour the humanitarian legacy of their parents. EDOF supports organizations that are doing important work in the fields of medical research and social progress in order to help them fulfill their already proven track record of success. Some of the projects that EDOF has supported include initiatives with the Mayo Clinic, the CNN Freedom Project, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, among others. EDOF also funded the creation of the Essam and Dalal Obaid Center for Reconstructive Transplant Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Academic Career

 * April 2017 - August 2018 | Inaugural Visiting Fellow for Intelligence and Defense Projects at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
 * March 2017 | Co-founded the Saudi & GCC Security Project at The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
 * September 2012 - April 2017 | Visiting Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
 * January 2008 - January 2016 | Senior Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
 * May 2004 - January 2007 | Adjunct Fellow for the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.
 * January 1999 - January 2000 | Research Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) in Washington DC.

Selected publications

 * A Long Pattern of Brazen Assassinations. Susris. Dec 9, 2011.
 * A New Generation of Saudi Leaders, and a New Foreign Policy. The Washington Post.  March 26, 2015.
 * A Saudi Arabian Defense Doctrine. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. May 27, 2014.
 * A Saudi View on the Islamic State. With Saudi Al Sarhan. European Council on Foreign Relations. Oct 2, 2014.
 * Actually, Saudi Arabia Could Get a Nuclear Weapon. CNN. June 19, 2015.
 * Bashar Al-Assad is Syria’s Problem, Not Its Solution. CNN. Oct 5, 2015.
 * Conspicuously Quiet in Saudi Arabia. Susris. April 20, 2011.
 * Determinants of a New Saudi Oil Policy. Reuters. Dec 2, 2014.
 * How Saudi Arabia Is Tying its Oil and Foreign Policies Together. The Telegraph. May 18, 2016.
 * Hyped Energy Infrastructure Threat Assessments Fuel Price Speculation. Susris. April 18, 2011.
 * Iran’s Syrian Power Grab and Saudi Arabia. Project Syndicate. Nov 19, 2015.
 * Meeting the Challenge of Fragmented Iraq: A Saudi Perspective. Center for Strategic and International Studies. April 6, 2006.
 * National Security in Saudi Arabia: Threats, Responses, and Challenges. With Anthony Cordesman. Praeger. Sept 30, 2005.
 * Obama’s Last Chance with Saudi Arabia. The National Interest. April 20, 2016.
 * Only Saudi Arabia Can Defeat ISIS. The Guardian. Dec 22, 2015.
 * President Trump Goes to Saudi Arabia. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. May 19, 2017.
 * Qatar is Playing a Dangerous Game of Political Chicken. The National Interest. Aug 6, 2017.
 * Saudi Arabia Gets Forceful on Foreign Policy. The Washington Post. Oct 24, 2013.
 * Saudi Arabia is Emerging as the New Arab Superpower. The Telegraph. May 5, 2015.
 * Saudi Arabia is Preparing Itself in Case Iran Develops Nuclear Weapons. The Telegraph. June 29, 2015.
 * Saudi Arabia Shifts to More Activist Foreign Policy Doctrine. Al Monitor. Oct 17, 2013.
 * Saudi Arabia Shifts to More Assertive Defense Doctrine. Al Monitor. June 3, 2014.
 * Saudi Arabia Will Lead. Susris. Nov 20, 2011.
 * Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Union Project Includes Military Dimension. Al Monitor. Dec 29, 2013.
 * Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad, and Iran in Syria. The National Interest. February 16, 2016.
 * Saudi Arabia’s New Role in the Emerging Middle East. BBC News. April 28, 2011.
 * Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Energy Initiative: Safeguarding Against Supply Disruptions. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Nov 9, 2006.
 * Saudi Oil Supplies are Safe and Secure. CNN. April 7, 2011.
 * Stepping Into Iraq. The Washington Post. Nov 29, 2006.
 * Syria Tragedy a Turning Point for the West. CNN. Sep 16, 2013.
 * The Arab D-Day. With Jamal Khashoggi. The New York Times. Sept 8, 2013.
 * The Collapsing Arab State. Project Syndicate. April 25, 2013.
 * The Day of Saudi Collapse Is Not Near. Foreign Policy. April 13, 2011.
 * The $40-a-Barrel Mistake. The New York Times. May 25, 2004.
 * The Iran Deal: A View from Saudi Arabia. Susris. Dec 4, 2013.
 * The Liberation of Yemen Proves Saudi Arabia’s Power is Growing. The Telegraph. August 26, 2015.
 * The Long Hot Arab Summer: On the Viability of the Nation State System in the Arab World. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. March 2013.
 * The Macroeconomic Costs of Iran’s Nuclear Program. Susris. Dec 16, 2013.
 * The Muslim Brotherhood: A Failure in Political Evolution. July 2017. Belfer Center Intelligence Report.
 * The Myth of Saudi Support for Terrorism. The Washington Times. July 21, 2016.
 * The Oil Kingdom at 100: Petroleum Policymaking in Saudi Arabia. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Dec 1, 2001.
 * The Salman Doctrine: The Saudi Reply to Obama’s Weakness. The National Interest. March 30, 2016.
 * The Saudi Coalition Is Right. Qatar's Support for the Muslim Brotherhood Must Not Stand. The Telegraph. July 19, 2017.
 * The Saudis and Containing Iran in Lebanon. The Daily Star. Aug 30, 2006.
 * The Saudis Can Crush Isis. New York Times. With Saud Al-Sarhan. Sept 8, 2014.
 * The Truth about the Saudi Executions. Al Monitor. Jan 25, 2016.
 * US Should Stand with Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Defense One. Oct 6, 2016.
 * There Will Be No Uprising in Saudi Arabia. Foreign Policy. March 10, 2011.
 * This Congressional Act Threatens US National Security. CNN.com, Aug 29, 2017.
 * Trump Can End ISIS by Learning from Saudi Arabia. CNN. April 27, 2017.
 * What the West Gets Wrong about Saudi Arabia. CNN. Nov 22, 2013.
 * What will US-Saudi Summit Mean for Iranian Policy in the Middle East? Al Monitor. Sept 6, 2015.
 * Why OPEC is Increasingly Irrelevant. Financial Times. December 17, 2014.
 * Why Saudi Arabia is Stable Amidst Middle East Unrest. The Washington Post. March 11, 2011.
 * Why Saudi Arabia Needs a New Defense Doctrine. CNN. June 23, 2014.
 * Why Saudis Formed Anti-Terror Coalition. CNN. December 22, 2015.
 * Why Saudis May Take on Iraq’s Shia Militias. Al Monitor. 2/29/2016.