Ján Kubiš (born November 12, 1952) is a Slovak diplomat. He is a former minister of foreign affairs. He was appointed United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon in 2019 by António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, and as head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in January 2021.
Early life
Born in 1952, Kubiš studied international economic relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Career
Career with the United Nations
From 2015 until 2018, Kubiš served as the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI); he was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 5, 2015. He was also the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Previously, he served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia from July 2006 until January 2009.
Later on, he served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (2015–2018), United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon in 2019, and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in 2021.
Kubiš resigned from the Libya mission on November 23, 2021.
Career with the OSCE
Kubiš was formerly Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General. In July 2005, the European Union appointed Kubiš to be the EU's special envoy to Central Asia. Kubiš had previously served as the United Nations special envoy to Tajikistan from 1998 to 1999, during the transitional period following the civil war until the country held its first postwar elections.
Prior to taking on the post as OSCE Secretary General, Kubiš was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre in the secretariat of the OSCE, a position he held from 1994.
Career in the Slovak diplomatic service
From 1993 to 1994, Kubiš was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the UN Office in Geneva, as well as to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and other international organizations. In 1994, Kubiš was Special Ministerial Envoy and Slovak Chief Negotiator on the Pact for Stability in Europe. In 1992, he served as Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) under the Czechoslovak CSCE chairmanship.
From 1991 to 1992, Kubiš was Director-General of the Euro-Atlantic Section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. From 1989, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow, and as Deputy Head of the Embassy from 1990 until his departure in 1991. Between 1985 and 1988, he headed the section dealing with security and arms control in the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry. From 1980 to 1985, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Personal life
He is married and has one daughter.
References
- Secretary-General Appoints Ján Kubiš of Slovakia Special Coordinator for Lebanon United Nations, press release of 9 January 2019.
- "Secretary-General Appoints Ján Kubiš of Slovakia Special Envoy, Head of United Nations Support Mission in Libya". United Nations. January 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "UNSCOL Leadership". UNSCOL. March 13, 2015.
- AFP (November 23, 2021). "Libya: UN special envoy quits a month before presidential elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- "UN Libya envoy quits weeks before planned election". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byGiancarlo Aragona | Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 1999–2005 |
Succeeded byMarc Perrin de Brichambaut |
| New office | European Union Special Representative for Central Asia 2005–2006 |
Succeeded byPierre Morel |
| Preceded byMarek Belka | Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 2009–2011 |
Succeeded bySven Alkalaj |
| Preceded byStaffan de Mistura | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan 2011–2014 |
Succeeded byNicholas Haysom |
| Preceded byNickolay Mladenov | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq 2015–2018 |
Succeeded byJeanine Hennis-Plasschaert |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byEduard Kukan | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2006–2009 |
Succeeded byMiroslav Lajčák |
| Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Government of Slovakia 2006–2010 | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | |
| Deputy Prime Ministers | |
| Ministers |
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| Executive Secretaries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) | |
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| OSCE Secretaries General | ||
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|  | |
| United Nations special envoys to Libya | |
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| a: Acting |
- 1952 births
- Foreign ministers of Slovakia
- Direction – Social Democracy politicians
- European Union diplomats
- Living people
- Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
- Diplomats from Bratislava
- Politicians from Bratislava
- Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations
- Slovak officials of the United Nations
- Slovak officials of the European Union
- OSCE Secretaries General
- Candidates for President of Slovakia