UNAMI Leadership
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq: Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert
Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands assumed her responsibilities as Special Representative for Iraq of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on 17 December 2018.
Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert brings over 20 years of political and diplomatic experience, having served in several high-level Government and parliamentary positions. She was Minister for Defence of the Netherlands (2012-2017), the first woman to be appointed in that role. As Minister, she oversaw the Central Staff, Support Command, the Defence Material Organisation and the four Royal Netherlands Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force and the Military and Border Police. In this role, she had oversight of Dutch involvement in military operations in Mali, Afghanistan and Iraq, building close collaboration with the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations partners.
Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert also served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (2010-2012) and a member of the European Parliament (2004-2010). She worked for the European Commission in Brussels and in Riga, Latvia, and for the City of Amsterdam.
Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance: Claudio Cordone
Mr. Claudio Cordone of Italy assumed his responsibilities as Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on 14 August 2022.
Appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres on 11 July 2022, Mr. Cordone brings to this position more than 35 years of experience in international relations, international human rights and humanitarian law, including as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Lebanon, where he has been serving since 2017. During this time, he also briefly served as the interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon. Previously, he served as Director of the Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as well as Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country (2013-2017). He worked with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and spent over 25 years with Amnesty International in multiple capacities, including a six-month tenure as interim Secretary General in 2010. From 1997 to 1998, he served as Chief of the Human Rights Office with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Mr. Cordone holds a law degree from Sapienza University of Rome and completed a Master of Arts in Arab Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Mr. Cordone speaks English, French, Italian and Arabic.
Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq: Ghulam Mohammad Isaczai
Mr. Isaczai took up his role in Iraq as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in October 2022, after serving as UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan.
Prior to that, he served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the UN in New York.
Mr. Isaczai brings to the job over 25 years of work experience in the UN system covering complex humanitarian, development, recovery, and peace-building issues in different parts of the world, including serving as UN Resident Coordinator to the Republic of Azerbaijan (2016) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2013). He also served as the UNDP and UNFPA Resident Representative in both countries.
Mr. Isaczai served in other senior leadership and management positions within the UN system, including as Director of Program at the United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, Germany; UNDP Senior Advisor and Country Director a.i in Tajikistan, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and Head of Program in Nepal, and Assistant Resident Representative in Yemen. He also served in Afghanistan, and Syria with the UN system.
Before joining the UN system, Mr. Isaczai held positions with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and Save the Children-US in Peshawar, Pakistan, and worked with the private sector in the United States.
Mr. Isaczai holds an M.A. in Public International Law from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, a BSc in Business Administration from Midland University, a Diploma in Human Development from Jones International University, and courses on negotiations and conflict resolution from Harvard University.
He is fluent in Pashto, Dari/Farsi, and English and has a working knowledge of Arabic.