Lakhdar Brahimi

Lakhdar Brahimi (1934-) was a diplomat for his native land of Algeria, the Arab League, and the United Nations diplomat who resigned his UN post as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, stating frustration with L. Paul Bremer in establishing a government in Iraq. He concluded he did the best job possible under the circumstances. He now works with the Global Leadership Foundation, a group of individuals with extensive government experience who privately advise national leaders.

United Nations

Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (from 3 October 2001 to 31 December 2004), Ambassador Brahimi was entrusted with overall authority for the political, human rights, relief, recovery and reconstruction activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan. Mr. Brahimi previously served as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Afghanistan from July 1997 until October 1999. He welcomes the new Afghanistan talks proposed by the Obama administration, but fears they may be years too late.

Between Afghanistan assignments, Mr. Brahimi served as Under-Secretary-General for Special Assignments in Support of the Secretary-General's Preventive and Peacemaking efforts, producing the "Brahimi Report" about improving the peace operations system.

Prior to his first Afghanistan appointment, Mr. Brahimi served as Special Representative for Haiti (from 1994 to 1996), and Special Representative for South Africa (from December 1993 to June 1994). In the latter position, he led the United Nations Observer Mission until the 1994 democratic elections that resulted in Nelson Mandela taking the presidency of post-apartheid South Africa. He has also undertaken special missions on behalf of the Secretary-General to a number of countries, including Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Yemen, Liberia, Nigeria and Sudan.

Algeria and the Arab League

He was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria from 1991 to 1993. He served as Rapporteur to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit).

From 1984 to 1991, he was Under-Secretary-General of the Arab League, and from 1989 to 1991, served as Special Envoy of the Arab League Tripartite Committee to Lebanon, mediating the end of the civil war in that country.

For his home country of Algeria, he was Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Algeria from 1982 to 1984, Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1971 to 1979, and Ambassador to Egypt and the Sudan, as well as Permanent Representative to the Arab League in Cairo, from 1963 to 1970.

From 1956 to 1961, during the Algerian War, he was the National Liberation Front (FLN) representative in Southeast Asia, resident in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Early life

Mr. Brahimi was educated in Algeria and France (law and political science), and is fluent in Arabic, English and French.