In February 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.  In this capacity, Mr. Mladenov will be the Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Quartet.

Mr. Mladenov succeeds Robert Serry of the Netherlands to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service and excellent leadership of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).

Mr. Mladenov brings with him extensive experience in public service and international affairs.  He is currently Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).  He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria from 2010 to 2013 and Minister of Defence of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2010.  Previously, he was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009 and a Member of the Parliament of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.  Mr. Mladenov held several positions in the intergovernmental and non-governmental sectors, including at the World Bank and the European Institute.

Mr. Mladenov earned a Master of Arts in war studies at King’s College London, in the United Kingdom, and both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in international relations at the University of National and World Economy of Sofia, in Bulgaria.

Link: SG appoints Mr. Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process