Bert Koenders

Albert Gerard Koenders (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑlbərt ˈxeːrɑrt (bɛrt) ˈkundərs]; born 28 May 1958) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2017. He is currently a professor at Leiden University and a special envoy of the World Bank. He is also chair of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs, a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group and a commissioner of the International Commission on Missing Persons. Koenders studied political science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, and completed a second master's in international relations at Johns Hopkins University. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007 and served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 2007 until 2010. He later was the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Operation in the Ivory Coast (2011–2013), and Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (2013–2014). Koenders founded the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank/International Monetary Fund and has served as President of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly and leader of its Socialist Group.