The Sir Brian Urquhart Award is given annually by the

United Nations Association – UK The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) is the official United Nations Association of the United Kingdom. It is a UK-wide grassroots UN membership organization. History Growing out of the League of Nations Union, UNA-UK held its first ...

for distinguished service to 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 ...

. The award celebrates Urquhart’s work on behalf of the UN, and is presented to individuals whose own efforts reflect his contribution. Urquhart was the second person recruited to the

UN Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

in 1945 and worked with the Executive Committee of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations to establish the administrative framework of the organisation that had been created by the

U.N. Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the Secretariat, the Gene ...

. Having served at the United Nations for four decades, Urquhart undertook the direction of peacekeeping operations, in the Middle East,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

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 ...

and the Congo. Urquhart retired in 1986 at the rank of

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

. He is currently a member of UNA-UK's expert advisory panel.

Recipients

Past recipients of the award include: * 2011: Dame Margaret Anstee * 2012: Sir Richard Jolly * 2013: Ian Martin * 2014: Lynn Davies * 2015: Lord Hannay of Chiswick * 2016:

Christine Chinkin Christine Mary Chinkin (born 1949) is a Professor of International Law and founding Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the William W. Cook Global Law Professor at the U ...

* 2017: Lord Judd of Portsea * 2018: Purna Sen * 2019:

Andrew Gilmour Andrew Gilmour (March 2, 1875 – July 25, 1938) was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1917 to 1921. Political career Gilmour first ran as a candidate for the ...

* 2020:

Zeinab Badawi Zeinab Mohammed-Khair Badawi (; born 3 October 1959) is a Sudanese-British television and radio journalist, educator, civic activist, and writer. She was the first presenter of the ''ITV Morning News'' (later known as '' ITV News at 5:30''), an ...

* 2021:

Nisreen Elsaim Nisreen Elsaim (Arabic alphabet, Arabic: نسرين الصائم; born 1993 or 1994) is a Sudanese climate activist and climate negotiator. Personal life Elsaim was born in Sudan and was raised in Khartoum. As a child, Elsaim interacted with n ...

and Maria Fernanda Espinosa * 2022:

Clare Short Clare Short (born 15 February 1946) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to 2003. Short began her career as a civil servant. A member of the Labour Party until 2006, she was Member o ...

* 2023:

Comfort Ero Comfort Ekhuase Ero is an analyst, policymaker and the president of the think-tank International Crisis Group. Her research has focussed on peacekeeping and international relations in conflict-ridden countries. Alongside her work in international ...

* 2024: Charles Petrie

References

{{reflist Awards established in 2011