Staffan de Mistura

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Staffan de Mistura (born January 25, 1947, Stockholm, Sweden) is a long-serving Swedish diplomat. After a 36 year career in various UN agencies,[1] United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon appointed him as his Special Representative for Iraq on September 11, 2007.[2]

His work has taken him to many of the World's most volatile trouble-spots including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia.[3]

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[edit] Early life

Born to a Swedish mother and an Italian father, he soon began to appreciate the vital necessity of a unity among nations to prevent another World War. His father instilled in him a passion for the UN and humanitarian work in general.

Working as an intern for the UN World Food Programme in Cyprus in the early 1970s, he witnessed the death of a child, shot by a sniper. The child had wandered over the 'green line' dividing Cyprus and Greece. This experience was something he found profoundly shocking, but it also stirred up a sense of 'constructive outrage' as he has described it; a desire to study humanitarian emergency relief and dedicate his life to working for the peaceful resolution of conflict.[4]

[edit] 1970s-1990s

By 1976, he was working as the UN Food and Agricultural Organization's Deputy Chef de Cabinet, a post he remained in until 1985.

In 1987 he became Director of the World Food Programme in Sudan. And from 1988 to 1991, he acted as Director of Fundraising and External Relations of the United Nations Office of the Coordinator for Afghanistan.

Moving on again, he was employed as Director of the Division of Public Affairs of the United Nations Children's Fund, known as UNICEF, and was also UNICEF representative for Somalia.

He was briefly the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. The job lasted from March through August 1997.

In 1999, de Mistura sat as a member of the Security Council Panel on Humanitarian Issues in Iraq. He was also briefly Special Advisor to the High Commissioner for Refugees in Kosovo; a job that lasted from April to June. He was then given the task of Regional Administrator for the Mitrovica Region in Kosovo.[5]

[edit] 2000-Present

From 2001 to 2004, de Mistura was Personal Representative of the Secretary-General in Southern Lebanon. One of his major achievements in that post was to set up and organise a successful de-mining operation.[6] He then went on to serve as Deputy Special Representative for Iraq for 15 months, starting in January 2005. During his tenure, he was keen to portray an optimistic view of Iraq and its chances of recovery, highlighting the hard work the UN were putting in behind the scenes to provide Iraqis with a better standard of living.[7]

After that, he became Director of the UN Staff College in Turin, Italy, a post he retained until being appointed to his present position.[8]

In the weeks leading up to the appointment, it was reported that politicians in Baghdad strongly favoured a former Romanian envoy to Iraq, Radu Onofrei.[9]

The immediate future for Mr. De Mistura will involve talks on expanding the role of the UN in Iraq. This is thought to include an attempt at reconciliation between the various factions. With recent ceasefires declared by the Mahdi Army and the Sunni insurgents who'd been fighting al-Qaeda, the UN seem cautiously optimistic. However, the tense situation between Turkey and the Kurds of northern Iraq may prove to be one of the more difficult diplomatic challenges.[10]

[edit] Accusations of nepotism

In what some described as a controversial move, Siddarth Chatterjee, the son-in-law of the UN Secretary General,[11] was appointed de Mistura's Chief of Staff in Iraq. Chatterjee's appointment was first highlighted by the Washington Post on October 18, 2007. The UN sought to play down the controversy, but some journalists saw this as just the latest example of UN nepotism. It was pointed out that de Mistura had previously hired Imran Riza, the son of Iqbal Riza, an aide to Kofi Annan, former Secretary General.[12]

The current Secretary General's spokesman, Michael Montas, later confirmed the appointment of Chatterjee, who had previously been a senior UNICEF official in Somalia. Montas denied that Chatterjee's appointment had anything to do with his father-in-law's position. He insisted that it was purely a matter for de Mistura and Chatterjee who had previously worked together during the first Gulf War.

Within the UN, the 'rank and file' were alleged to resent the appointment, with some staff members calling it nepotism.[13].

[edit] Personal life

Mr. de Mistura is married and has two daughters.[14]

[edit] References & Notes

  1. ^ [1] page says 35 years, but it was written in 2006 before the Iraq appointment
  2. ^ Secretary-General appoints Staffan de Mistura of Sweden as Special Representative for Iraq (11 September 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
  3. ^ albawaba.com middle east news information::Staffan De Mistura, a history of service: Grinding your teeth for humanity
  4. ^ albawaba.com middle east news information::Staffan De Mistura, a history of service: Grinding your teeth for humanity
  5. ^ http://iseek.unon.un.org/webpgdept1331_13.html
  6. ^ Annan's personal envoy for southern Lebanon named deputy of UN mission in Iraq
  7. ^ UN’s humanitarian activities in Iraq quietly save lives – senior official
  8. ^ http://iseek.unon.un.org/webpgdept1331_13.html
  9. ^ U.S. Seeks U.N. Help With Talks On Iraq - washingtonpost.com
  10. ^ UN envoy to visit Iraq in two weeks for talks on broader role, official says
  11. ^ [2] Chatterjee married Hyun Hee Ban, Ban Ki-moon's youngest daughter. Hyun Hee Ban works for UNICEF in Nairobi. (para 6)
  12. ^ CFP: Nepotism returns to United Nations
  13. ^ http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&ContentRecord_id=cd7ad7ce-802a-23ad-497c-cb2cfbf5fa4d (para 9)
  14. ^ http://iseek.unon.un.org/webpgdept1331_13.html