In December 2007, the Secretary-General appointed Robert H. Serry of the Netherlands as the United Nations 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. Serry will be the Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Quartet.

Mr. Serry served as the Dutch Ambassador to Ireland.  His previous professional experiences include diplomatic postings in Bangkok, Moscow, New York (United Nations) and Kyiv.  In addition, he held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Crisis Management and Operations at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Mr. Serry has also led the Middle Eastern Affairs Division of the Dutch Foreign Ministry.  In the framework of the Netherlands European Community presidency, he participated in the events leading to the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in November 1991.  He has also published several articles on political and peacekeeping topics, ranging from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.

Mr. Serry was born in 1950 in Calcutta, is married and has three children.  He graduated, cum laude, in political science from the University of Amsterdam.

Link: Secretary-General appoints Robert H. Serry of Netherlands as UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process