The Arab League at a crossroads: Is a leadership struggle emerging?

A seemingly simple suggestion posted on social media has reignited a fierce debate over regional leadership in the Arab world.

On 6 June, Saudi writer Ubaid Al-Ayed called for relocating the Arab League’s headquarters from Cairo to Riyadh, denouncing Egypt’s continued hosting of the institution since 1945 as a “diplomatic monopoly”.

The post didn’t stop there - Al-Ayed also proposed Saudi diplomat Adel Al-Jubeir as the next Secretary-General of the League, replacing Egypt’s Ahmed Aboul Gheit, whose term ends in 2026.

The call has drawn sharp reactions on both sides of the Red Sea, highlighting not just a question of logistics but a deeper struggle for influence between Egypt and Saudi Arabia - two countries that have historically vied for ideological and political dominance in the Arab world.

“The League no longer adds much politically - it represents governments more than it represents peoples,” he said.

“But this call [to relocate] expresses a symbolic attempt to destabilise Egypt’s regional standing,” Major General Mohamed Rashad, former deputy director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate, told The New Arab. 

Born out of a post-World War II desire to forge unity among newly independent or soon-to-be-independent Arab states, the Arab League was founded in Cairo in March 1945, mirroring the city’s overpowering significance, history, and culture among budding nations.

The council was initially conceived as a forum for Arab coordination on political, economic, and security matters - a vehicle for solidarity in the face of colonial legacies and shared regional threats.

Egypt, with its large population, historical prestige, and then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s brand of pan-Arab nationalism, naturally emerged as the political heart of the institution. Over time, Cairo became not just a host city but a symbol of Arab diplomatic centrality.

But times - and regional dynamics - have changed. The rise of the Gulf states, the decline of pan-Arabism, and the fragmentation of the Arab world through conflict, external intervention, and internal divisions have left the League a diminished force, struggling to remain relevant in a volatile region.

A power play in the Gulf

Against this backdrop, Saudi Arabia’s assertive foreign policy in recent years has turned it into a de facto power broker, from mediating Sudanese ceasefires to restoring ties with Iran.

Riyadh’s growing role has prompted many within the Kingdom to question why it shouldn’t also house the Arab League, thereby aligning the institution’s headquarters with the new epicentre of Arab diplomacy.

“Saudi Arabia is a leading country in the region and deserves to be the new home of the League,” said Saudi writer Ahmed Al-Zailai. He views Cairo’s role as increasingly outdated, arguing that Riyadh’s leadership - economically, diplomatically, and religiously - is more representative of current realities.

“The end of Ahmed Aboul Gheit’s presidency may be the beginning of a true dawn for the League in the Kingdom,” Al-Zailai told The New Arab. “It is time for Egypt to relinquish its management of the League.”

But such moves are far from simple. Rashad, asserting the symbolic significance of such a proposal, also pointed out that the League’s charter explicitly states that the permanent headquarters is in Cairo - a condition that can only be changed by a two-thirds majority vote or consensus among member states.

To Rashad, this isn’t just a procedural issue.

Nearly 80 years have passed since the establishment of the Arab League, which was officially launched in March 1945. During this period, eight Arab figures have held the position of Secretary-General of the League, with a total of 12 terms, due to the renewal of some of their terms more than once.

Egyptians have monopolised the position during most periods, starting with Abdel Rahman Azzam, followed by Mohamed Abdel Khalek Hassouna, Mahmoud Riad, Ahmed Ismat Abdel Meguid, Amr Moussa, Nabil El-Araby, up to the current Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

A crisis of purpose

While Egypt and Saudi Arabia debate the site of the League’s offices, critics argue that the institution's problems are structural, not geographical.

Yemeni political analyst Yassin Al-Tamimi believes the League is suffering from a more profound paralysis.

“The debate over relocating the League's headquarters does not reflect a desire to reform the institution as much as it entrenches Arab division,” he said.

“Its weakness is not because of where it sits, but because of a collective failure borne by all Arab countries - especially the major ones.”

Still, Al-Tamimi supports rotating the Secretary-General post, suggesting it could be a first step toward restoring credibility. “Let Saudi Arabia lead the next term,” he proposed, “but in partnership with Egypt, not at its expense.”

His view highlights a key tension: between modernising the institution to reflect shifting power centres, and preserving its symbolic legacy, of which Egypt has long been the custodian.

Amid Saudi signals that it may push to install its own candidate, speculation has grown in Egypt that Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly could be nominated to succeed Aboul Gheit. The idea has generated a wave of mixed reactions.

“Madbouly is an economic administrator, not a diplomat,” said Dr Heba Al-Bashbishi, a professor of political science at Cairo University. “We should be looking for someone with experience in international negotiations and conflict resolution.”

Al-Bashbishi also proposes a radical alternative: rotating not just the Secretary-General’s seat, but the League’s headquarters. “Why should it always be in Cairo or even Riyadh? Let’s hold summits across different Arab capitals. That would strengthen regional identity and give voice to the often-overlooked Maghreb countries.”

Her comments point to a long-standing critique - that the Arab League has increasingly become a theatre for bilateral rivalries rather than a platform for collective Arab interests.

A familiar fault line

The current debate also revives a historical precedent. Between 1979 and 1990, the Arab League’s headquarters were temporarily moved to Tunis following Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel - an act many Arab states considered a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. Egypt was suspended from the League, politically isolated, and diplomatically punished.

Eventually, Cairo was re-admitted, and the headquarters returned. But the episode remains a stark reminder that Arab unity - at least as imagined in the League’s founding - has always been tenuous, vulnerable to political ruptures and national egos.

Major General Tamer Al-Shahawi, former MP and senior military intelligence officer, believes today’s controversy is no more promising than the past.

“The Arab League has failed to establish a common market, a joint army, or real unity,” he said. “Debating its location now is merely symbolic - it won't solve any of its core dysfunctions.”

A manufactured dispute?

Others suggest that the entire debate may be less about institutional reform and more about political posturing. Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi, former assistant foreign minister, called the uproar premature and unnecessary.

“This is a distraction, possibly fuelled by external actors to provoke a rift between Cairo and Riyadh,” he warned. “The charter is clear, and Egypt will not agree to moving the headquarters. The rumour about nominating Madbouly is just that - a rumour.”

Still, even rumours can be revealing. The intensity of the debate shows just how important the Arab League remains, not necessarily as a functional organisation, but as a symbol of influence and legacy. In a region where image, history, and political identity are tightly interwoven, even a building’s location carries geopolitical weight.

As the Arab League approaches a leadership transition in 2026, the question of its future will continue to loom. Will the institution remain tethered to its historical roots, or evolve to reflect the region’s shifting centres of power?

More importantly, will this moment lead to reform, or simply reinforce the divisions that have long rendered the League ineffective? For now, the Arab world’s most enduring regional institution finds itself not at a crossroads of diplomacy, but at the centre of a tug-of-war over prestige.

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.