Volker Perthes is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. He recently served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of UNITAMS (Feb 2021-Oct 2023), and led the Independent Strategic Review of UNAMI (Iraq) (Oct 2023-Mar 2024). From 2005 to 2020, he was the Director and CEO of Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, and taught as a professor of international relations at Humboldt University, Berlin. He is a proliffc author and commentator, with works focused on global geopolitics, Europe, the Middle East, and international institutions.