Melania Trump will preside over a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, March 2, 2026, coinciding with the United States assuming the council’s rotating monthly presidency.
According to a White House statement first reported by CNN, the first lady will chair a session titled “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict.”
The meeting will focus on education as a tool for fostering tolerance and promoting global peace.
This marks the first time a sitting U.S. first lady has led a Security Council session.
The White House described it as a historic moment: “Mrs Trump’s leadership will mark the first time a sitting US first lady presides over the security council, as members consider education, technology, peace, and security.”
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz will also participate, alongside other Security Council representatives and international participants.
Waltz posted on social media: “We are thrilled to have @Flotus gavel in the US Presidency of the Security Council.”
Melania Trump has previously championed efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children allegedly taken by Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In October 2025, she announced that some of those children had been reunited with their families.
Historically, Security Council meetings are chaired by a country’s UN ambassador or a senior cabinet official. While former first ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt played influential roles at the UN — including helping draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — none presided over council sessions while serving as first lady.
The session occurs against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s critical stance toward the UN. He has frequently called the organization “ineffective” and advocated major reforms, while withdrawing the U.S. from several UN-affiliated bodies, including the World Health Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
His administration also cut funding to UN agencies supporting Palestinian refugees, describing them as “irredeemably flawed.”
Last week, Trump convened the inaugural meeting of his “Board of Peace,” an initiative he presents as an alternative mechanism for resolving international disputes — raising concerns among some global leaders that it could undermine the UN’s role.
