Danish diplomat Peter Due has been appointed as the new Head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), announced UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday.
Due succeeds Caroline Ziadeh of Lebanon, who has led UNMIK since 2021. Guterres praised Ziadeh for her “dedicated efforts to advance peace and stability in Kosovo and the region, as well as for her effective leadership of the Mission.”
According to UNMIK’s statement, Due brings three decades of experience in international peace and security.
Since 2019, he has served as Director for Asia and the Pacific at the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. Previously, he was Director for Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America at the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (2015–2019).
Due also served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office in Belgrade (2013–2015), and earlier as a Political Affairs Officer with UNMIK in Pristina. In New York, he held several senior positions, including Chief of Staff/Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (2009–2013), Team Leader for West Africa (2008–2009), and Team Leader for Europe and Latin America (2008).
The appointment comes amid renewed debate over UNMIK’s relevance. At the October session of the UN Security Council, the U.S. representative, Jeff Bartos, reiterated Washington’s call for UNMIK’s closure, stressing that there is “no security crisis in Kosovo.”
