Geir Pedersen is a “diplomat’s diplomat” who as the new special envoy to Syria could bring a “non-conventional approach” to ending the war, say people who have worked with the Norwegian negotiator.
The veteran diplomat has decades of experience navigating delicate Middle Eastern conflicts and is described by colleagues as pragmatic and skilled at conflict resolution.
Mr Pedersen is highly trusted by the Norwegian government, which in 2012 pulled him from a top UN posting in New York to serve as ambassador to China as part of its efforts to normalise diplomatic relations that had been frozen since Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
Before his stint in New York, Mr Pedersen served as the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon from 2005 to 2008. He was known for speaking to all Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah, a trait that he will need to deploy in Syria to engage with warring factions.
During Lebanon’s 2006 war with Israel, Mr Pedersen dealt regularly with former Lebanon Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who found him “mature and understanding”.
His experience in Lebanon demonstrated Mr Pedersen's diplomatic expertise in dealing with complex conflicts, Mr Siniora told The National. "He is a very professional person, who is systematic in dealing with issues. He is not just a public relations guy."
He may have a better chance than his predecessor Staffan de Mistura in brokering a solution to the conflict, Mr Siniora said. “Conditions are now more conducive for a political solution. There is a general fatigue. People want an end to the conflict.”
Mr de Mistura’s predecessors, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Algeria's Lakhdar Brahimi, both resigned in frustration over the lack of progress in ending the conflict.
Mr Pedersen’s Middle East experience dates back the early 1990s. In 1993, he took part in secret negotiations that led to the Oslo Agreement and mutual recognition between the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and Israel. Between 1998 and 2003, he was Norway’s representative to the Palestinian Authority.
“Geir worked effectively and quietly behind the scenes,” recalled Aaron David Miller, a former US negotiator who worked with Mr Pedersen in the run-up to the 2000 Camp David summit between the former US, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat.
Now the director of the Middle East programme at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington DC, Mr Miller remembers his former colleague as a “thoughtful, committed negotiator.”
But the odds of achieving a lasting peace in Syria may be even lower than what they were for an Israel Palestine settlement in Camp David in 2000, he cautioned. “He has been given another mission impossible.”
Peace between the government and rebels will require leverage from outside powers, including stalwart Bashar Al Assad ally Russia. “You could bring back the world’s greatest negotiator but unless Russians, Turks, Iran and Assad cooperate, it will be a key to an empty room.”
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Read more:
UN says Syria is blocking efforts to draft new constitution
De Mistura’s departure kills hope for Syrians
Guterres letter to UN Security Council announces Geir Pedersen as Syria envoy
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In 2003 and 2004, Mr Pedersen served as Director of the Asia and Pacific Division in the UN’s Department of Political Affairs, where he worked on the Middle East peace process and Iraq.
Salman Shaikh, a former UN staffer and current Middle East expert, worked with him on a 2003 UN investigation after Israel made allegations that Palestinian weapons were being transported in ambulances belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
"Geir showed himself to be principled and his own man," Mr Shaikh told The National. "He was clear with all parties, and his main objective was seeking the truth and communicating that with everyone who is involved."
Mr Shaikh went on to work with Mr Pedersen in Ramallah, Beirut and New York, and believes his former colleague can make a difference in Syria. “He is from a newer generation of diplomats who is ready to employ innovative ways, a more inclusive approach, and to work with all those involved including non-state actors.”
In Syria, Mr Pedersen may break with his predecessors by attempting to engage with ordinary Syrians, Mr Shaikh believes. Resolving the conflict “doesn’t lie just in the big powers. It requires giving a voice – and giving legitimacy – to the Syrians themselves.”
In Norway, Mr Pedersen is known as a “diplomat’s diplomat”, serious, professional and with a reputation for guarding his privacy. Even in Norwegian media there is little written about his personal life.
He was born in Oslo in 1955 and holds a Master of Arts majoring in History. He is married with five children.
Mr Pedersen is expected to assume the role within weeks. The UN and regional powers are increasingly desperate to end Syria’s civil war, now in its eighth year. The conflict has claimed more than 360,000 lives and has displaced more than half of the population of 18 million.
UAE'S YOUNG GUNS
1 Esha Oza, age 26, 79 matches
2 Theertha Satish, age 20, 66 matches
3 Khushi Sharma, age 21, 65 matches
4 Kavisha Kumari, age 21, 79 matches
5 Heena Hotchandani, age 23, 16 matches
6 Rinitha Rajith, age 18, 34 matches
7 Samaira Dharnidharka, age 17, 53 matches
8 Vaishnave Mahesh, age 17, 68 matches
9 Lavanya Keny, age 17, 33 matches
10 Siya Gokhale, age 18, 33 matches
11 Indhuja Nandakumar, age 18, 46 matches
Fixtures
Wednesday, April 3
Arsenal v Luton Town, 10.30pm (UAE)
Manchester City v Aston Villa, 11.15pm (UAE)
Thursday, April 4
Liverpool v Sheffield United, 10.30pm (UAE)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Switch Foods
Started: 2022
Founder: Edward Hamod
Based: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Industry: Plant-based meat production
Number of employees: 34
Funding: $6.5 million
Funding round: Seed
Investors: Based in US and across Middle East
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
TO CATCH A KILLER
Director: Damian Szifron
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Ralph Ineson
Rating: 2/5
AIR
Director: Ben Affleck
Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis
Rating: 4/5
Chris Jordan on Sanchit
Chris Jordan insists Sanchit Sharma will make an impact on the ILT20, despite him starting the campaign on Gulf Giants' bench.
The young UAE seamer was an instant success for the side last season, and remained part of the XI as they claimed the title.
He has yet to feature this term as the Giants have preferred Aayan Khan and Usman Khan as their two UAE players so far.
However, England quick Jordan is sure his young colleague will have a role to play at some point.
"Me and Sanchit have a great relationship from last season," Jordan said.
"Whenever I am working with more inexperienced guys, I take pleasure in sharing as much as possible.
"I know what it was like when I was younger and learning off senior players.
"Last season Sanchit kick-started our season in Abu Dhabi with a brilliant man-of-the-match performance.
"Coming into this one, I have seen a lot of improvement. The focus he is showing will only stand him in good stead."
Kanye West
Ye — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West — has seen his net worth fall to $400 million in recent weeks. That’s a precipitous drop from Bloomberg’s estimates of $6.8 billion at the end of 2021.
Ye’s wealth plunged after business partners, including Adidas, severed ties with him on the back of anti-Semitic remarks earlier this year.
West’s present net worth derives from cash, his music, real estate and a stake in former wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.
Slow loris biog
From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90'+3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 ULTRA
Display: 6.8" quad-HD+ dynamic Amoled 2X, 3120 x 1440, 505ppi, HDR10+, 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 64-bit octa-core
Memory: 12GB RAM
Storage: 256/512GB / 1TB
Platform: Android 14, One UI 6.1
Main camera: quad 200MP wide f/1.7 + 50MP periscope telephoto f/3.4 with 5x optical/10x optical quality zoom + 10MP telephoto 2.4 with 3x optical zoom + 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2; 100x Space Zoom; auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, full-HD@30/60/240fps, full-HD super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 12MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
I/O: USB-C; built-in Galaxy S Pen
Durability: IP68, up to 1.5m of freshwater up to 30 minutes; dust-resistant
SIM: Nano + nano / nano + eSIM / dual eSIM (varies in different markets)
Colours: Titanium black, titanium grey, titanium violet, titanium yellow
In the box: Galaxy S24 Ultra, USB-C-to-C cable
Price: Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,599 for 512GB, Dh6,599 for 1TB