Bert Koenders currently holds the Kooymans Chair in Peace, Security, and Law at Leiden University. He serves as President of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs and Advisor to the World Bank. From 2019 to 2021, he acted as Special Envoy of the World Bank on fragile states.
Between October 2014, and October 2017, Bert Koenders was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands. During the first half of 2016, the Netherlands held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. From August 2011 to October 2014, he was an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. From May 2013, he led the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and between August 2011 and July 2013, he served as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire.
In 2010–2011, Bert Koenders worked as a negotiator and Co-chair for Economics and Development under the OECD’s Busan Partnership Agreement. From February 2007 to February 2010, he was the Netherlands' Minister for Development Cooperation, managing a development budget of €5 billion and serving on the World Bank’s Development Committee. From November 1997 to February 2007, Bert was a Member of the Dutch House of Representatives, focusing on foreign affairs, trade, corporate social responsibility, and international financial institutions. Earlier in his career, he worked for the European Commission on European foreign policy and served with the United Nations in Mozambique, Mexico, and South Africa from 1993 to 1994. He also directed Parliamentarians for Global Action. Bert Koenders played a pivotal role as a member of the Dutch parliamentary inquiry committee on Srebrenica and briefly presided over the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in 2006–2007. He founded the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, chairing it from 2000 to 2007.
Prior to that, Bert Koenders taught Conflict Management at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center and International Relations and Economics at Webster University in Leiden. He holds degrees in Political and Social Sciences, International Economics, and African Studies from the Free University of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam, and Johns Hopkins University SAIS in Washington, DC.
Last updated: 2024