United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed former Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag as the interim UN Middle East envoy, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq announced on Friday, according to Reuters.
In addition to this new role, Kaag will retain her position as the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, a role to which she was appointed in late December of 2023, Haq confirmed.
Kaag’s appointment is temporary as Guterres continues the search for a permanent replacement for Tor Wennesland. Wennesland, who held the position for four years, stepped down at the end of last year.
Kaag was previously the head of an international team of weapons experts charged with overseeing the elimination of Syria’s chemical stockpile.
She is married to Anis al-Qaq, a Palestinian Arab who served as a deputy minister under former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat in the 1990s and as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative to Switzerland.
During her time as Dutch Foreign Minister, Kaag clashed with then-Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over his support for Israel.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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