Riyad H. Mansour is a Palestinian-American diplomat and since 2005 has been the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations. Previous to Mansour's appointment to Permanent Observer, Mansour served as the Deputy Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations from 1983 to 1994. In 2005, President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas appointed him to succeed Nasser al-Qudwa as Permanent Observer for Palestine to the UN. Under Mansour, the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations changed from being an "entity" to being a "non-Member Observer State" on 29 November 2012.