Staffan de Mistura

Staffan de Mistura (born January 25, 1947, Stockholm, Sweden) is a long-serving Swedish diplomat. After a 36 year career in various UN agencies, [ [http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/194554] page says 35 years, but it was written in 2006 before the Iraq appointment] United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon appointed him as his Special Representative for Iraq on September 11, 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sga1091.doc.htm| title=Secretary-General appoints Staffan de Mistura of Sweden as Special Representative for Iraq |date=11 September 2007| accessdate=2007-11-02]

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. [http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/194554 albawaba.com middle east news information::Staffan De Mistura, a history of service: Grinding your teeth for humanity ] ]

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.

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 Fund-Raising 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 Adviser 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.http://iseek.unon.un.org/webpgdept1331_13.html]

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. [ [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13032&Cr=iraq&Cr1= Annan's personal envoy for southern Lebanon named deputy of UN mission in Iraq ] ] 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. [ [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16284&Cr=iraq&Cr1= UN’s humanitarian activities in Iraq quietly save lives – senior official ] ]

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

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. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/09/AR2007080902290.html U.S. Seeks U.N. Help With Talks On Iraq - washingtonpost.com ] ]

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. [ [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24345&Cr=iraq&Cr1= UN envoy to visit Iraq in two weeks for talks on broader role, official says ] ]

Personal life

Mr. de Mistura is married and has two daughters.

References & Notes