‘Diplomat’s diplomat’ touted as the man to bring peace

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.

The veteran diplomat has decades of experience navigating delicate Middle East 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 UN posting in New York to serve as ambassador to China to normalise diplomatic relations, frozen since Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

Previously, Mr Pedersen was the UN’s special co-ordinator for Lebanon from 2005 to 2008. He was known for speaking to all Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah, a trait that he will need to use in Syria to engage with warring factions.

In Lebanon’s 2006 war with Israel, he dealt regularly with former Lebanese 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, 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, frustrated at the lack of progress in ending the conflict.

Mr Pedersen’s Middle East experience dates from 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,” said Aaron Miller, a former US negotiator who worked with Mr Pedersen in the run-up to the 2000 Camp David summit between then US, Israeli and Palestinian leaders Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat.

But the odds of achieving a lasting peace in Syria may be even lower than what they were for an Israel-Palestine settlement in 2000, Mr Miller said. “He has been given another mission impossible.”

Peace between the government and rebels will require pressure from outside powers, including president Bashar Al Assad’s ally Russia.

“You could bring back the world’s greatest negotiator but unless Russians, Turks, Iran and Assad co-operate, it will be a key to an empty room.”

Salman Shaikh, a former UN staffer, worked with Mr Pedersen on a 2003 UN investigation after Israel alleged that Palestinian weapons were being moved 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 trying 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 in history. He is married with five children.

He 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.

In Lebanon Mr Pedersen proved himself astute at dealing with complex conflicts and of speaking to all parties involved