Gillian Martin Sorensen is a Senior Advisor at the United Nations Foundation, and is a national advocate on matters related to the United Nations and the United States-United Nations relationship, addressing audiences as diverse as Rotary International and the United States Air Force Academy; university students; staff and Members of Congress; journalists and leaders of civil society.[1] In the last few years, she has made over 554 appearances, speaking about the United Nations and related issues.
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Prior to this, Sorensen served in the United Nations as Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, from 1997 to 2003, on appointment by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. She was responsible for outreach to non-governmental organizations and was the contact point for the Secretary-General with parliamentarians, the academic world, religious leaders and other groups committed to peace, justice, development and human rights.[2]
From 1993-1996, Sorensen served as Special Adviser for Public Policy on appointment by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali where her duties included directing the UN’s global Fiftieth Anniversary observances in 1995. In that role Sorensen led the planning of conferences, debates, documentaries, concerts and exhibits; the preparation of books and curricular materials, and the coordination of the UN50 Summit at in which l80 Presidents and Prime Ministers participated. As a public speaker, she often represented the World Organization in this country and abroad.[3]
Sorensen earlier served for over 12 years (1978–1990) on appointment by Mayor Edward I. Koch as New York City Commissioner for the United Nations and Consular Corps, head of the City’s liaison with the world’s largest diplomatic community.< Her responsibilities included matters related to diplomatic security and immunity, housing and education, and other cultural and business contacts between the host city and over 30,000 diplomats.[4] She secured Federal reimbursement to New York for the costs of diplomatic protection, which continues to this day.[1]
Sorensen grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of parents active in politics and civic affairs.[5] Her father, John B. Martin, was an attorney and held public office. Her mother, Helen Martin, was a journalist and lecturer.
Sorensen is a graduate of Smith College and she studied at the Sorbonne.[6] In the fall of 2002, on leave from the UN, she was a teaching Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government (Institute of Politics) at Harvard University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow at the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy. Previously, she served as a Board Member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on appointment by the President of the United States. In addition to her public service, she has been active in politics and was a delegate to three national Presidential conventions.[1]
She is the widow of Theodore C. Sorensen, an attorney and writer who served as President John F. Kennedy's Special Counsel and speechwriter. They are the parents of a daughter, Juliet Sorensen.[7]