Lakhdar Brahimi ( Algerian pronunciation: ; ; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

Special Envoy to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

until 14 May 2014. He was

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

from 1991 to 1993. He served as chairman of the United Nations Panel on United Nations Peace Operations in 2000. Its highly influential report "

Report of the Panel on United Nations Peacekeeping The Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (2000) is commonly called the Brahimi Report, named for the chairman of the commission that produced it, '' Lakhdar Brahimi''. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had convened the Panel on Mar ...

" is known as "The Brahimi Report". He is also a member of The Elders, a group of world leaders working for global peace. Brahimi is a member of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law. He has also been a Member of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

since 2008, an organization which works to promote

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for t ...

around the world. He is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

, and a governing board member of the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

. He relinquished his post as UN Special Envoy to

on 31 May 2014.

Early life and education

Brahimi was born in 1934 in El Azizia near Tablat,

, about 60 km south of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. He was educated in Algeria and in France where he studied law and political science. He joined the campaign for independence in 1956. Based in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

for five years, he was the representative of the

National Liberation Front (Algeria) The National Liberation Front (; ), commonly known by its French acronym FLN, is a nationalist political party in Algeria. It was the main nationalist movement during the Algerian War and the sole legal and ruling political party of the Algerian ...

in South East Asia, touring the region in search of diplomatic support.

Career

Brahimi was the United Nations special representative for

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Before his appointment in 2001 by the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

, he had served the U.N. as special representative to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

where he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. Brahimi facilitated the first American UN Force Commander since their involvement in the Korean War. Before coming to the U.N., Brahimi, who represented the National Liberation Front in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

during Algeria's independence movement in 1956–1961, was an

official (1984–1991) and the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1991 until 1993. Brahimi was also chair of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, which produced the influential Brahimi Report. On a visit to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in April 2004 to help determine how and when Iraqi elections can be held, he said that the recent violence threatened to delay Iraqi national assembly elections—the national assembly is to pick the president and write a constitution. : "The elections scheduled to take place in January 2005 are the most important milestone," Brahimi said. "There is no substitute for the legitimacy that comes from free and fair elections." (Witter, 2004) Brahimi suggested that the Iraq Interim Governing Council should be dissolved and that most of its members should not have any role in the new government. Though the council was in fact dissolved early, some of its members did have major roles in the ensuing government. The president, one of the two vice-presidents, and the prime minister in the following government all served on the council. Most prominently, Brahimi's criticism of

Ahmed Chalabi Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi (; 30 October 1945 – 3 November 2015) was an Iraqi dissident politician, convicted fraudster and founder of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who served as the President of the Governing Council of Iraq ( 37th ...

has led to Chalabi's claim that Brahimi is an Arab nationalist who should have no role in determining the future of Iraq. At the same time, close allies of Chalabi have been pushing claims that various world leaders and the UN took bribes from

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

under the Oil for Food program. In May 2004, Brahimi was supposed to play a largely advisory role in the appointment of candidates, which ended up selecting as Iraq's new interim

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar (, born 1958) is an Iraqi politician. He was the Vice President of Iraq, vice president under the Iraqi Transitional Government in 2006, and was interim president of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to ...

and Iyad Allawi, respectively. However, Brahimi expressed serious disappointment and frustration about his role. " Bremer is the dictator of Iraq, He has the money. He has the signature. ... I will not say who was my first choice, and who was not my first choice ... I will remind you that the Americans are governing this country." According to a person who spoke with him, "He was very disappointed, very frustrated," al Dulame said. "I asked him why he didn't say that publicly (and) he said, 'I am the U.N. envoy to Iraq, how can I admit to failure?'" Brahimi announced his resignation, resulting from "great difficulties and frustration experienced during his assignment in Iraq", at the UN in New York on 12 June. While serving as the United Nations envoy to

, he described

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's policy towards the Palestinians as "the big poison in the region". On 5 February 2008, the UN Secretary-General,

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

, appointed Brahimi to lead a panel investigation on United Nations staff security in the wake of the Algiers bombings of 11 December 2007. He was one of the founders of the French language

Journal of Palestine Studies The ''Journal of Palestine Studies'' (JPS) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which has been published since 1971. It is published by Taylor and Francis on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies. History and profile The journal ...

called ''La revue d'étude palestinienne''. On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing

. On 13 May 2014, UN Secretary-General

announced that Brahimi would resign as the special envoy to Syria on 31 May 2014. Brahimi addressed a police academy in December 2016, expressing his wish that Algeria and Morocco should “leave the Sahara issue aside in an effort to build a communal economy based on exchange.” His statement caused shockwaves in Algeria. In March 2019, he is mandated by

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as the seventh president of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019. Before his stint as an Algerian politician, Bouteflika s ...

to preside over the national conference that is to propose a new constitution and set the date of the presidential election.

Career history

* National Liberation Front Representative to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

: 1956–1961 *Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and the

: 1963–1970 *Ambassador to the United Kingdom: 1971–1979 *Diplomatic Adviser to the

: 1982–1984 * Undersecretary General of the Arab League: 1984–1991 *Arab League Special Envoy for

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

: 1989–1991 * Foreign Minister of Algeria: 5 June 1991 – 3 February 1993 *Rapporteur to the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...

: 3 June 1992 – 14 June 1992 *United Nations Special Envoy for South Africa: December 1993 – June 1994 *United Nations Special Envoy for

: 1994–1996 *From 1996-1997, he also undertook a series of special missions to

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

on behalf of the United Nations. *United Nations Special Envoy for

: July 1997 – October 1999 *Chairperson of the Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations: 7 March 2000 – 17 August 2000 *United Nations Special Envoy for

: 3 October 2001 – 31 December 2004 *Chairperson of the

Bonn Conference Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This m ...

: 24 November 2001 – 5 December 2001 * Special Adviser and Undersecretary General of the United Nations: 2004–2005 *United Nations Special Envoy for

: 1 January 2004 – 12 June 2004 *Visiting Professor of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

: 2006–2008 *Member of The Elders: 2007–present *Chairperson of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of United Nations Personnel and Premises Worldwide: 5 February 2008 – 9 June 2008 *United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy for

: 2012–2014

Honours and awards

Honours

*: First Class of the National Order of Merit *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

*: Commander of the Order of Legion of Honour *: Grand Cordon of the

Supreme Order of the Renaissance The Supreme Order of the Renaissance (,) is the second-most senior order of merit in the Kingdom of Jordan. History The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the British For ...

*: Grand Officer of the

Order of Good Hope The Order of Good Hope or Order of the Cape of Good Hope is a dormant order of merit of the Republic of South Africa. History The Order of Good Hope was founded in 1973, by the republican government of South Africa, to grant those who had dis ...

*: Commander of the Order of the Republic *: Medal of the

Four Freedoms Award The Four Freedoms Award is an annual award presented to "those men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to those principles which US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed in his ''Four Freedoms speech'' to the Un ...

*: Collar of the Order of the Unity

Awards

* 2016: Human Rights Prize of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (France) * 2016:

Emir Abdelkader Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of ...

Prize for Living Together * 2014: Wateler Peace Prize * 2011: Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention laureate of the Special Jury Prize awarded by the

Fondation Chirac The Fondation Chirac was launched by former French President Jacques Chirac, after having served two terms in office between 1995 and 2007. Since 2008, this foundation strives for peace through five advocacy programmes: * conflict prevention * ...

* 2006: Hesse Peace Prize * 2004:

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

Medal of Honor

Honorary degrees

* 2018:

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

* 2017:

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

* 2017:

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

* 2016:

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

Personal life

Brahimi is fluent in Arabic, French and English. He is married to Mila Bacic Brahimi, and has three children: Salah Brahimi is the CEO of Grey Matter International, a consultant company, located in Washington, DC, where he lives with his wife, Dr. Doaa Taha, and his two children; Princess Rym al-Ali, who was a

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

correspondent in Baghdad during the 2003

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, is married to

Prince Ali bin Hussein Prince Ali bin Al Hussein (; born 23 December 1975) is the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. He is also the half brother of Abdullah II of Jordan, King Abdullah II. He is a memb ...

. She lives in Amman, Jordan, with her husband and two children, Jalila and Abdullah ibn Ali; and Salem Brahimi, who lives in Paris, France, just a block away from his parents, with his wife Lawrence Brahimi, and his two children.

Published works

* ''Afghanistan: Negotiating Peace'', New York, The Century Foundation Press, 2012. * ''Arab–Israeli conflict'' (collective work), Beirut, American University of Beirut, 2010. * ''Guerres d'Aujourd'hui : Pourquoi ces conflits ? Peut on les résoudre ?'' (collectif work), Paris, Delavilla, 2008. * ''Étude d'ensemble de toute la question des opérations de maintien de la paix sous tous leurs aspects'', New York, Nations Unis, 2003. * ''Rapport du Groupe d'étude sur les opérations de paix de l'ONU'', New York, Nations Unis, 2000.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brahimi, Lakhdar 1934 births Living people People from Médéa Province Algerian officials of the United Nations Center for Contemporary Arab Studies faculty Ministers of foreign affairs of Algeria Members of the National Liberation Front (Algeria) Algerian Muslims Ambassadors of Algeria to Egypt Ambassadors of Algeria to Sudan Ambassadors of Algeria to the United Kingdom 20th-century Algerian politicians People involved in the Syrian peace process Commanders of the Legion of Honour Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations The Elders (organization) 20th-century diplomats 21st-century diplomats