This Wednesday at 6:30 PM in Haldeman 031, the Dartmouth World Affairs Council and the World Outlook Journal have the pleasure of hosting a joint dinner and open discussion with Simon Cleobury, the current UK diplomat who leads the Security Council agenda on West Africa at the UK Mission to the UN. Mr. Cleobury will be discussing his work at the UN as a British diplomat and also about his process of transitioning from being a corporate lawyer to a UN diplomat. If you are not busy this Wednesday evening, join us for intelligent, interactive discourse and free food from Taste of Africa. There will be limited seating available, so please RSVP to this e-mail if you plan on attending.

 

The Dartmouth World Affairs Council is an organization sponsored by the Dickey Center for International Understanding that is dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of world issues. Our goal has been to engage national and international actors and experts in a forum conducive to intelligent, thoughtful discussion of issues facing the United States and the world. Committed to scholarly analysis, the Council espouses no cause, promotes no ideology, and aligns with no political group. The World Affairs Council prides itself on its balance and scholarly detachment.

 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact [log in to unmask]edu with any questions. We look forward to meeting you all!

 

Simon Cleobury is a corporate lawyer turned diplomat. Since February 2012 he has worked for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York. Simon leads on West African issues on the Security Council agenda and has specific responsibility for Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali and the Sahel region. This involves covering three peacekeeping operations (UNOCI (Côte d’Ivoire); UNMIL (Liberia); and MINUSMA (Mali)) and two sanctions regimes (Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia). Simon has led on the Mali crisis since the coup d’état in March 2012 and worked on the resolutions that authorised military intervention and established a new UN peacekeeping operation. In May 2012, Simon accompanied UK Permanent Representative Sir Mark Lyall Grant on the Security Council Mission to West Africa, which visited Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Before moving to New York, Simon worked as a corporate lawyer for international law firm Baker & McKenzie for seven and half years and reached the level of Senior Associate. During his time at the firm Simon advised on mergers and acquisitions; corporate restructurings; share listings; corporate governance and fund buy outs. He also advised major UK charities on a pro bono basis and worked on several projects for the Public International Law and Policy Group, a global pro bono law firm. Simon obtained a bachelors degree in History from University College London and a masters degree in historical research from Christ Church, University of Oxford. Simon is married to Philomena, who works as a lawyer for the Office of the Legal Counsel at United Nations Headquarters in New York.