Ján Kubiš

This article is about the Slovak diplomat. For the Czechoslovakian resistance fighter, see Jan Kubiš.

Ján Kubiš
Ján Kubiš in 2006
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
In office February 5, 2015 – November 1, 2018
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon
Preceded by	Nickolay Mladenov
Succeeded by	Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
In office November 23, 2011 – November 1, 2014
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon
Preceded by	Staffan de Mistura
Succeeded by	Nicholas Haysom
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
In office January 26, 2009 – November 23, 2011
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon
Preceded by	Marek Belka
Succeeded by	Sven Alkalaj
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office July 4, 2006 – January 26, 2009
Prime Minister	Robert Fico
Preceded by	Eduard Kukan
Succeeded by	Miroslav Lajčák
European Union Special Representative for Central Asia
In office July 28, 2005 – July 4, 2006
President	José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Pierre Morel
Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
In office June 15, 1999 – July 28, 2005
Preceded by	Giancarlo Aragona
Succeeded by	Marc Perrin de Brichambaut
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-12) November 12, 1952 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Political party	Direction-Social Democracy
Spouse	Jaroslava Kubišová
Children	1
Alma mater	Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Ján Kubiš (born November 12, 1952) is a Slovak diplomat. He is a former minister of foreign affairs. He was appointed United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon in 2019 by António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, and as head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in January 2021.

Early life

Born in 1952, Kubiš studied international economic relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Career

Career with the United Nations

From 2015 until 2018, Kubiš served as the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI); he was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on February 5, 2015. He was also the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Previously, he served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia from July 2006 until January 2009.

Later on, he served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (2015–2018), United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon in 2019, and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in 2021.

Kubiš resigned from the Libya mission on November 23, 2021.

Career with the OSCE

Kubiš was formerly Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General. In July 2005, the European Union appointed Kubiš to be the EU's special envoy to Central Asia. Kubiš had previously served as the United Nations special envoy to Tajikistan from 1998 to 1999, during the transitional period following the civil war until the country held its first postwar elections.

Prior to taking on the post as OSCE Secretary General, Kubiš was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre in the secretariat of the OSCE, a position he held from 1994.

Career in the Slovak diplomatic service

From 1993 to 1994, Kubiš was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the UN Office in Geneva, as well as to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and other international organizations. In 1994, Kubiš was Special Ministerial Envoy and Slovak Chief Negotiator on the Pact for Stability in Europe. In 1992, he served as Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) under the Czechoslovak CSCE chairmanship.

From 1991 to 1992, Kubiš was Director-General of the Euro-Atlantic Section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. From 1989, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow, and as Deputy Head of the Embassy from 1990 until his departure in 1991. Between 1985 and 1988, he headed the section dealing with security and arms control in the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry. From 1980 to 1985, he served in the Czechoslovak Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Personal life

He is married and has one daughter.