Commander in the Royal Netherlands Navy and academic lecturer

Caecilia Johanna van Peski holds an MSc degree in Educational & Cultural Psychology from Tilburg University (2001), an MA degree in Civil-Military Interaction from the German Military Staff College in Hamburg (2021), and a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in Border Security and Management for Senior Leadership from the OSCE Border Management College in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (2021).

She is a Commander in the Royal Netherlands Navy, Military Veteran and an authority in the field of Security & Defence, Civil-Military Interaction, Democratisation & Elections and Justice & Equality whose achievements have received national and international recognition. Recipient of the ‘Ambassador for Peace’ Award granted by the Universal Peace Federation (2010), she is regarded as being among the most influential women of her generation in the Netherlands – listed as one of the ‘Viva’ top 400 (2009) and among the top 100 of ‘Opzij’ (2010).

She was appointed UN Special Representative for her country in October 2010, addressing the 65th United Nations General Assembly in New York with her statement ‘Deepening Democracy’. She has worked for (inter-)governmental, multilateral organisations, amongst which the Netherlands Foreign Office, the United Nations (UNDP, DPKO), the European Union (EEAS), the European Commission (EIDHR), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), NATO, and DCAF-ISSAT Geneva.