Heidi Tagliavini (born 1950 in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

) is a Swiss former

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

noted for her service with

international aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

and peacekeeping missions; a 2003 profile in the monthly magazine of the '' Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' called her "Switzerland's outstanding diplomat". She was charged with leading the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

investigation into the causes of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, and represented the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

in the 2015 negotiations about the

Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...

agreement concerning the

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

Career

After joining the Swiss diplomatic service in 1982, Tagliavini served in the Directorate of Political Affairs of the

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...

and was posted to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. She was a member of the first

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

(OSCE) Assistance Group to

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

in 1995. In 1996, Tagliavini served as Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Swiss embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. From 1998 to 1999, she was the Deputy Head of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (Unomig). Returning to Switzerland in 1999, she was appointed head of Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy in the Department of Foreign Affairs. After a stint as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

from 2000 to 2001, Tagliavini served as Swiss Ambassador to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

from 2001 to 2002, and was asked by UN Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

to head

UNOMIG The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 858 in August 1993 to verify compliance with a 27 July 1993 ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Georgia and forces in A ...

in 2002. She served in that position until 2006, when she returned to

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

to assume the position of deputy head of the Directorate of Political Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In November 2008, the Swiss government agreed to the

EU presidency The official title President of the European Union (or President of Europe) does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, including: * the President of the European Council (since 1 December 2019, Charle ...

's request to have Tagliavini lead the EU investigation into the chain of events leading to the 2008

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

. The independent international fact-finding mission headed by Tagliavini was given a budget of €1.6 million. Its report was published on 30 September 2009. The final report, published on September 30, concluded that Georgia had started the war, but that both sides were responsible for the escalation of the conflict.

Role in the Ukraine crisis

Tagliavini was until June 2015 a member of the

Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (also known as the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine) is a group of representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Organization for Secur ...

, which was organized to attempt a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.Helene Fouquet, Ilya Arkhipov and Daryna Krasnolutska (February 12, 2015)
The Unsung Heroine of Minsk Talks
''

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...

''. The other members of the council were former President

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...

of Ukraine, and Russia's ambassador to Ukraine,

Mikhail Zurabov Mikhail Yuryevich Zurabov (russian: Михаил Юрьевич Зурабов, ) is a Russian politician. He was the ambassador of Russia to Ukraine

. In late 2009 and early 2010, Tagliavini led the OSCE Election Observation Mission during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections. She continued to represent the OSCE in the negotiations concerning the

war in Ukraine The following is a list of major conflicts fought by Ukraine, by Ukrainian people or by regular armies during periods when independent states existed on the modern territory of Ukraine, from the Kyivan Rus' times to the present day. It also i ...

in 2014, including with respect to the 2015

agreement. In July 2014, when

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

was shot down over rebel-held territory in Ukraine, Tagliavini negotiated a deal between Ukraine and the separatists to allow international investigators into the area to collect remains and wreckage. In February 2015, Tagliavini was among the signatories of the

agreement, alongside Ukraine's Leonid Kuchma, Russia's Mikhail Zurabov as well as

Alexander Zakharchenko Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko uk, Олекса́ндр Володи́мирович Заха́рченко, translit=Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zakharchenko (26 June 1976 – 31 August 2018) was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the he ...

and

Igor Plotnitsky Igor Venediktovich Plotnitsky uk, Ігор Венедиктович Плотницький, translit=Ihor Venedyktovych Plotnytskyi (born 25 June 1964) is a former Ukrainian separatist leader who served as the head of the self-proclaimed Luhan ...

representing the rebels in east Ukraine. Later in 2015, Tagliavini resigned from the Swiss diplomatic service.

Publications

Tagliavini co-published a book, ''The Caucasus - Defence of the Future'' (2001), in which she recounts her Chechnya experiences. An amateur photographer, she is also the author of ''Zeichen der Zerstörung'',. a book featuring her photographs of war-torn Chechnya.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagliavini, Heidi People from Basel-Stadt Swiss diplomats 1950 births Living people Ambassadors of Switzerland to Bosnia and Herzegovina Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe People of the Russo-Ukrainian War Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Swiss women diplomats Swiss women ambassadors