Angela Kane

Angela Kane (born 1948 in Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany) is a German[1] diplomat and was formerly the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and Under-Secretary-General for Management in the United Nations.[2]

Angela Kane
Kane in 2015
United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
In office
8 March 2012 (2012-03-08) – 2015 (2015)
Preceded bySergio de Queiroz Duarte
Succeeded byKim Won-soo
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Management
In office
May 2008 (2008-05) – 2012 (2012)
Personal details
Born1948 (age 72–73)
Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany
NationalityGerman
Alma materBryn Mawr College
Johns Hopkins University
AwardsOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2015)
Dag Hammarskjöld Medal (2016)

Education and career

Kane holds degrees from Bryn Mawr College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.[3]

Before she joined the UN Secretariat, Kane worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and in the private sector in Europe.

UN career

From 1995 to 1999, Kane held a managerial position in the Department of Public Information, where she was responsible for United Nations publications. In this capacity, she launched the UN website in all official UN languages and administered the putting in place of the online documentation system through the UN website.

She has also held a number of other positions at the United Nations, including Principal Officer for Political Affairs in the Office of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and as political adviser to the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central American Peace Process to end the conflict in El Salvador. Additionally, she has worked in several UN missions including as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE),[4] as well as in Jakarta and Bangkok. She also served as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management,[1] where she concentrated on the implementation of reform initiatives, integrated global management, the use of information technology tools and the re-positioning of the Department as a proactive and efficient service provider.

Disarmament and later roles

She was named as new UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs on 8 March 2012, replacing Sergio de Queiroz Duarte. She was responsible for negotiating and conducting the chemical weapons investigation in Syria in 2013 which led to Syria joining the Chemical Weapons Convention and the dismantlement of its declared chemical weapons stocks. Between May 2008 and 2012, she was Under-Secretary-General for Management, responsible for a $11 billion annual budget, plus $2 billion for the renovation of the New York campus, overseeing the management of over 50,000 staff worldwide.

She served twice in the Department of Political Affairs, as Assistant Secretary-Genera[5] and previously as Director, focusing on preventing and resolving conflicts. In the latter capacity, she was in charge of the divisions dealing with the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, as well as decolonization, and the division for Palestinian rights. She supported several special political missions in Iraq, Nepal and the Middle East, and established the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, which was unprecedented among UN or other international efforts to promote accountability and strengthen the rule of law.

Later life

As of 2016, Kane teaches at Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs on disarmament issues.[6] She is also a Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.[7] and she is the Vice President of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna[8] In 2015, she received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grosses Verdienstkreuz).[9] In 2016 she also received the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star High Award from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria. Also in 2016, Kane received the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal from then Foreign Minister Steinmeier.[10]

In April 2016, Kane was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Director-General Irina Bokova of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to the governing council of the United Nations University.[11] In 2019, she was appointed Chair of the UNU Council.[12]

In addition, Kane holds various positions, including the following:

Personal life

Angela Kane was married to the Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg, who was attached to the Dutch embassy in Bangkok in the mid-seventies at the time when the French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was on his killing spree in Thailand and Nepal. The couple were the first to investigate Sobhraj's crimes, eventually building up a substantial body of knowledge which was handed over to Interpol and which played a critical role in the subsequent arrest and conviction of Sobhraj and his partner Marie-Andree Leclerc.

Kane has stated that the Sobhraj case took a toll on her marriage, leading in the end to her separation from Knippenberg. She was portrayed by the actress Ellie Bamber in the BBC serial on Sobhraj titled The Serpent which was broadcast in January 2021. Kane has stated that she was displeased by the diminution of her role in cracking the case, as portrayed in the series.[20]

References
  1. "SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS ANGELA KANE OF GERMANY AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. "UN chief outlines five-year action plan to build 'the future we want'". United Nations. January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  3. "Spring Commencement at MIIS: Celebrating 255 Graduates from 27 Countries | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey". www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  4. "New UNMEE deputy representative appointed". The New Humanitarian. 2002-12-23. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. "SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS ANGELA KANE OF GERMANY AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  6. "Angela Kane". Paris School of International Affairs. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  7. "Angela Kane". Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non‑Proliferation. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. "Team - IIP". International Institute for Peace. Vienna. Archived from the original on 2019-04-29.
  9. http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Berichte/Bekanntgabe-Ordensverleihung/1511-Verleihungen.html
  10. http://www.dgvn.de/meldung/bericht-zur-verleihung-der-dag-hammarskjoeld-ehrenmedaille/2016/%5B%5D
  11. Secretary-General Appoints 12 New Members to Council of United Nations University United Nations, press release of 27 April 2016.
  12. "UNU Council - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  13. "Korean Peninsula". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  14. "Angela Kane". www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  15. "Group of Eminent Persons (GEM): CTBTO Preparatory Commission". www.ctbto.org. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  16. "About us » Boards". Dialogue Advisory Group. Archived from the original on 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  17. "About Security Council Report : Security Council Report". www.securitycouncilreport.org. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  18. "BICC About/Boards". www.bicc.de. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  19. Strategic Committee Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA).
  20. Culliford, Graeme (2021-01-02). "Diplomat's wife who inspired The Serpent turned detective to cage serial killer". mirror. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
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