Renata Dwan of Ireland Appointed Director United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Renata Dwan of Ireland as Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).  The Secretary-General is grateful to Jarmo Sareva of Finland for his dedication and commitment in leading the Institute since 2015.

Ms. Dwan has a wealth of experience in peace and security issues within the United Nations, most recently as Chief of Policy and Best Practices in the United Nations Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support.

She was the Head of the Secretary-General’s Initiative on Peace Operations at the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and held positions as Team Leader of the Integrated Operational Teams for Asia and Mali with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, as well as Special Assistant and Chief of Staff at the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria.  In her 12 years in the Organization, she has led major United Nations-wide policy and reform initiatives on peace and security issues including security sector reform and peacekeeping partnerships.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Dwan was head of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Programme on Armed Conflict and Conflict Management (1999-2005) and Deputy Director of the EastWest Institute’s European Security Programme in Budapest (1997-1999).  She was Special Adviser to the European Union Council Secretariat for the first European Union crisis management operation and a member of European Union High Representative Javier Solana’s 2004 Task Force on a Human Security Doctrine for Europe.

Born in 1969, she holds a Master and Doctor of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Princeton University, in the United States.  She has published widely on international security matters.