Sigrid Kaag at UN Headquarters. UN Chief Appoints Sigrid Kaag as Interim Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process UN
Today, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Sigrid Kaag as Interim Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. She replaces Thor Wennesland.
Kaag will continue in parallel to her role as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2720.
She has extensive experience in political and humanitarian affairs, as well as in diplomacy. Sigrid Kaag previously served as First Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands. She was also the first female Minister of Finance. Previously, Kaag served as Minister of Trade and Development Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Sigrid Kaag also has extensive experience in the UN system, including as United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Special Coordinator of the Joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN Mission in Syria.
Kaag holds an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Exeter, UK, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, UK, and a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She speaks Dutch, German, French, English, Spanish and Arabic.