Sigrid Kaag

Sigrid Kaag

Sigrid Kaag speaking with Tasnim News Agency
Head of the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons
In office
16 October 2013 – September 2014
Personal details
Born 1961
Rijswijk, Netherlands[1]
Nationality Dutch
Children 4

Sigrid A.M. Kaag (born 1961)[1] is a Dutch diplomat working for the United Nations. Since December 2014 she serves as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL). She was head of the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons between October 2013 and September 2014. Until her mission in Syria she was employed as Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy of the United Nations Development Programme.

Career

Kaag earned a Master of Philosophy in International Relations on the Middle East from the University of Exeter; she also has a Master in International Relations from St Antony's College, University of Oxford.[2] She also received foreign relations training at the Clingendael Institute in The Hague.[3] After her studies Kaag worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Head of the UN Political Affairs Department. Later she worked for Royal Dutch Shell in London, United Kingdom. She started working for the United Nations in 1994 and from 1998 to 2004 she was Chief of Donor Relations for the International Organization for Migration, and Senior Programme Manager with the External Relations Office of UNRWA. Working in the Middle East she was responsible for areas as the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. From 2007 to May 2010 she was Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa for UNICEF. In May 2010 she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy of the United Nations Development Programme.[4] Between October 2013 and September 2014, she was head of the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons On 1 December 2014, the UN Secretary General announced that she will be the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), succeeding Sir Derek Plumbly.

In September 2016 Kaag was awarded the Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize.[5]

Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons

On 13 October 2013 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated her to lead the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. The United Nations Security Council was set to vote on her nomination three days after her nomination, on 16 October.[6] She was then officially confirmed for the position.[7] Kaag led a team of hundred experts who were responsible for ensuring the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons programme before 30 June 2014.[8]

Personal life

Kaag is married and has four children.[4] Her husband, Anis al-Qaq, is Palestinian and used to be the Palestinian representative to Switzerland.[9] She speaks six languages: Dutch, English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Theo Koelé (13 January 2014). "'In licht van de tragedie is dit bescheiden missie'" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sigrid A. M. Kaag". UNDP. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.clingendael.nl/news/sigrid-kaag-opent-70e-leergang-buitenlandse-betrekkingen
  4. 1 2 "Secretary-General appoints Sigrid Kaag of Netherlands Director of Partnerships Bureau, United Nations Development Proggramme". United Nations. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Belangrijke vredesprijs voor Nederlandse VN-diplomate Sigrid Kaag" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "U.N. names envoy to lead Syria chemical weapons mission". Al Arabiya. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Sigrid Kaag to Lead Syria Chemical Weapons Mission". Time World. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Wat we tot nu toe weten van Sigrid Kaag, Nederlandse leider VN-missie in Syrië" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Scarlett Haddad. "La Journée de la femme chez Sigrid Kaag : pousser les Libanaises vers la politique". L'Orient le Jour. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
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