Michael von der Schulenburg (full name: ''Michael Sergius Graf von der Schulenburg''; born 16 October 1948 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) is a former senior German diplomat with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Between 2005 and 2012 he worked at the rank of Assistant Secretary-General in UN peace missions in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Life and career

Michael von der Schulenburg is a descendant of the ‘Russian Line’ of the old German noble family of the von der Schulenburg (surname), Schulenburg. He earned degrees from the Free University in West Berlin,

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, and the

École Nationale d’Administration École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

. He worked for the UN for 30 years – in assignments in Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Sierra Leone, among others. When serving at the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) as the highest UN representative in Sierra Leone (Executive Representative of the Secretary-General – ERSG), he came into conflict with the government over the implementation of the Lomé Peace Agreement, police arming and the forthcoming presidential elections. In 2012, he was asked to leave the country. Since his retirement from the UN, Schulenburg worked as an advisor and as a publicist. In 2017, he published his book ''On Building Peace – Rescuing the Nation-State and Saving the United Nations.'' In 2020, Sierra Leonean President

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

awarded Schulenburg the highest honour of the country in recognition of his contributions to maintain peace in Sierra Leone, and made him Grand Commander of the Order of the Republic (GCOR).

Varies

In 2001 Schulenburg accused

Pino Arlacchi Giuseppe Arlacchi, also known as Pino (born 21 February 1951), is an Italian sociologist and is well known worldwide for his studies and essays about the Mafia. He represents the Democratic Party and is a member of the Socialists and Democrats ...

, the Director General of the UN in Vienna and of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, in a confidential letter that was later leaked to the press, that the office under Arlacchi's leadership suffered from fear, intimidation and a general lack of transparency. An official UN investigation later confirmed the accused mismanagement practices. In 2009 Schulenburg put himself at risk in Sierra Leone to save 22 youths of the opposition from being lynched by a large crowd that was attacking the opposition’s headquarters.

Publications

(2017). ''Building Peace – Rescuing the Nation-State and Saving the United Nations''. Amsterdam University Press.

References

External links

CV on michael-von-der-schulenburg.com2009 Presentation to the UN Security Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulenburg, Michael von der Living people 1948 births German officials of the United Nations 20th-century German diplomats Free University of Berlin alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics École nationale d'administration alumni Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe