Lakhdar Brahimi ( pronunciation: ; : الأخضر الإبراهيمي; al-Akhḍar al-Ibrāhīmi; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the and Special Envoy to until 14 May 2014. He was of from 1991 to 1993. He served as chairman of the United Nations Panel on United Nations Peace Operations in 2000. Its highly influential report "" is known as "The Brahimi Report".
He is also a member of , a group of world leaders working for global peace. Brahimi is a member of the , the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law. He has also been a Member of the since 2008, an organization which works to promote around the world. He is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the , and a governing board member of the . 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 , , about 60 km south of . 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 for five years, he was the representative of the in South East Asia, touring the region in search of diplomatic support.
Career
[]Brahimi was the United Nations special representative for and . Before his appointment in 2001 by the , , he had served the U.N. as special representative to 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 in 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 .
On a visit to 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 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 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 under the .
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 and : and , respectively. However, Brahimi expressed serious disappointment and frustration about his role. " 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," 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 's policy towards the Palestinians as "the big poison in the region".
On 5 February 2008, the UN Secretary-General, , appointed Brahimi to lead a panel investigation on United Nations staff security in the wake of the . He was one of the founders of the French language 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 to preside over the national conference that is to propose a new constitution and set the date of the presidential election.
Career history
[]- Representative to : 1956–1961
- Ambassador to , and the : 1963–1970
- Ambassador to the United Kingdom: 1971–1979
- Diplomatic Adviser to the : 1982–1984
- : 1984–1991
- Arab League Special Envoy for : 1989–1991
- : 5 June 1991 – 3 February 1993
- Rapporteur to the : 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 , , , , , , , and on behalf of the United Nations.
- United Nations Special Envoy for : July 1997 – October 1999
- Chairperson of the : 7 March 2000 – 17 August 2000
- United Nations Special Envoy for : 3 October 2001 – 31 December 2004
- Chairperson of the : 24 November 2001 – 5 December 2001
- : 2004–2005
- United Nations Special Envoy for : 1 January 2004 – 12 June 2004
- Visiting Professor of the : 2006–2008
- Member of : 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- : Grand Cross of the
: Grand Cordon of the- : Grand Officer of the
- : Commander of the
- : Medal of the
- : 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: Prize for Living Together
- 2014:
- 2011: Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention laureate of the Special Jury Prize awarded by the
- 2006: Hesse Peace Prize
- 2004: Medal of Honor
Honorary degrees
[]- 2018:
- 2017:
- 2017:
- 2016:
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; , who was a correspondent in Baghdad during the 2003 , is married to . 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.
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