Saeed ZAKI is a Sudanese policy analyst, strategic communications leader, and author specializing in state fragility, governance breakdown, and institutional continuity in conflict-affected contexts. With more than 17 years of experience across the United Nations system, international organizations, academia, and civil society, he works at the intersection of political analysis, institutional reform, and strategic communications.

As Chair of the Sudan Policy Advisory Group, Saeed brings deep expertise in how institutions endure, adapt, or erode under pressure – an area central to Sudan’s current national trajectory. His work focuses on the dynamics of authority, legitimacy, and governance continuity in fragile states, and on how international systems engage in reform, transition planning, and recovery processes. This perspective informs the Group’s commitment to realistic, evidence-based, and nationally grounded policy thinking.

Alongside his policy and analytical work, Saeed has led high-level advocacy and change management initiatives within the UN system. Supported the United in positioning South-South cooperation as a core development modality aligned with Sustainable Development Goals implementation and UN system reform. His work includes translating complex development finance, governance models, and institutional results into strategic narratives that inform global policy dialogue and replication.

Previously, he held senior communications and strategy roles with the United Nations at both headquarters and country levels, including supporting a multi-agency UN administrative reform system serving more than 70 partner entities worldwide. Earlier, in Sudan, he managed strategic communications and partnerships for a large governance, stabilization, and peacebuilding portfolio during a period of acute political and institutional fragility. These roles grounded his expertise in navigating reform in politically sensitive and rapidly changing environments.

Saeed is also the author of multiple nonfiction works examining Sudan’s political trajectory, governance challenges, and the ethical limits of externally driven reform. His books include Sudan’s Crossroads: A Nation Between Memory and Possibility and The Discipline of Limits: Why Sudan Cannot Be Planned, both of which explore the tension between institutional collapse and long-term nation-building. His writing contributes to broader debates on state resilience, legitimacy, and the responsibilities of policy actors in fragile contexts.

Throughout his career, he has combined analytical rigor with operational experience, leading global advocacy campaigns, institutional storytelling initiatives, and large-scale change communications. His approach emphasizes strategic patience, institutional memory, and nationally rooted solutions – principles that align closely with the Sudan Policy Advisory Group’s mission to support sustainable, inclusive, and forward-looking policy frameworks for Sudan.

Saeed holds advanced degrees in Communication Science. He is fluent in Arabic and English and remains deeply engaged in intellectual and policy discussions on Sudan’s future.


SUMMARY OF CAREER HISTORY & KEY POSITIONS HELD

  • Chair, Sudan Policy Advisory Group (SPAG)
  • Secretary-General, International Youth Federation
  • Representative of Sudan & Africa, International Olympic Committee
  • Senior Advisor, Sudan University of Science & Technology

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • State fragility, governance, and institutional continuity
  • Strategic policy analysis and reform in conflict-affected contexts
  • UN system strategy and organizational transformation
  • Strategic communications and change management
  • South-South cooperation and development narratives
  • Public sector reform and institutional capacity building
  • Knowledge management and digital engagement

 

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS

  • Author of multiple books on Sudan’s political trajectory, governance failure, and reform ethics, including Sudan’s Crossroads and The Discipline of Limits
  • Led global communications strategies supporting UN system reform and multi-agency transformation initiatives
  • Directed large-scale advocacy and public engagement campaigns in fragile and politically constrained environments
  • Served in international youth leadership roles representing Sudan and Africa on global platforms

 

JOINED SPAG SINCE

2022

 

SPAG HISTORY

  • Group Chair (2022 – )
  • Executive Board Member (2023 – )