Our Board

H.E. Maqsoud Kruse serves as the Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Countering Extremism & Terrorism since January 2026. He is also the Chairman of the International Steering Board of Hedayah, The International Center of Excellence for Countering Extremism & Violent Extremism since February 2026.

H.E. Kruse brings more than 25 years of professional experience across international, governmental, and private-sector fields. Over a four-year period, H.E. Kruse led the establishment of the National Human Rights Institution, since its inception in 2021, serving as its first Chairperson and subsequently as Chair of its Board of Trustees during its inaugural term from 2021 to 2025. The NHRI is an independent national body dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in the United Arab Emirates and operates in accordance with the Paris Principles within the framework of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in Geneva.

Previously, H.E. Kruse served as the first Executive Director of Hedayah, The International Center of Excellence for Countering Extremism & Violent Extremism, since its establishment in 2012. He played a key role in positioning Hedayah as the world’s first independent international institution dedicated to integrating research and practice in countering extremism, through dialogue initiatives, capacity-building programs, and applied research at the regional and international levels.

H.E. Kruse has also held several senior positions, including Strategic Communications Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in addition to being a member of the National Media Team commissioned by the UAE Cabinet, Psychological Affairs Advisor at Global Aerospace Logistics (GAL), a subsidiary of Emirates Advanced Investments Group, Head of Planning at the same company, and serving in the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces as an Organizational Psychologist working in a variety of settings related to Applied Psychology, Strategic Planning, and Leadership Development.

In addition, he was selected as the first representative of think tanks, training, and policy institutions on the Board of Directors of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) in Geneva for a five-year term beginning with its establishment in November 2014. GCERF is a public-private partnership supporting local initiatives to counter extremism.

Beyond his official duties, H.E. Kruse is an author, international speaker, and a regular media contributor across local and international outlets, including CNN, Sky News Arabia, Phoenix Television (Germany), Abu Dhabi TV, Alhurra Channel, SBS Radio (Australia), Sharjah Radio, and newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The National.

In 2023, he published a book through Trends Research & Advisory titled “The Future of Mental Health Care in the United Arab Emirates”. In 2021, he authored two studies with the same center: “The Year of the 50th: The Role of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Shaping Human Potential in the UAE”, and “Challenges in Developing a Comprehensive Curriculum for Gifted Students in the UAE”. He also contributed a chapter to titled “The Psychological Foundations of Tolerance”, published by Sultan Bin Zayed Center in 2029, and in the same year he published a research paper titled “Towards a Neural Model of Giftedness: A Conceptual Framework” at the Fourth International Conference on Educational Neuroscience in 2019. In addition, he published a scholarly paper titled “Countering Violent Extremism Strategies in the Muslim World” appeared in “The ANNALS” of The American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2016.

H.E. Maqsoud Kruse holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from United Arab Emirates University.