60 minutes with Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza

PSIA is honored to welcome Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023). Ms Kaag was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in December 2023, to facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza.

In her address, Ms Kaag discussed the current humanitarian situation and the needs of the civilians. She will also speak about the efforts to plan for reconstruction and the ‘day after’ in Gaza, including the role of the international community and the UN Security Council.

Before taking on this role, Ms Kaag was the first Deputy Prime Minister and first female Minister of Finance in the Dutch government (2022 to 2023). She previously served as Dutch Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation (2017-2021) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2021).

Ms. Kaag has held a wide range of senior positions in the United Nations system.  From 2015 to 2017, she was the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, and from 2013 to 2015, she was Special Coordinator of the Joint Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Mission in Syria.  She served as Assistant Secretary General with the United Nations Development Programme from 2010 to 2013 and as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Jordan from 2007 to 2010.  Prior to that, Ms. Kaag served in several senior positions with UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Ms. Kaag holds a Master’s of Art in Middle East Studies from the University of Exeter, a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo.  

This conversation was chaired by PSIA Dean, Arancha González.

Watch the replay of the event: