| Ambassador Kai Eide is winner of ASIS International's 2009 European Award for Distinguished Contributions to Societal Security |
ASIS International has announced that Ambassador Kai Eide is the winner of ASIS International's 2009 European Award for Distinguished Contributions to Societal Security. Ambassador Eide, a Norwegian diplomat, is currently the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
He has served the UN in various positions, primarily relating to the Balkan conflicts. In 2004-2005, he was the Special Envoy of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, with the aim of bringing the political process in Kosovo forward.
His two reports - in 2004 and 2005 - formed the basis for the policy adopted by the UN Security Council. Ambassador Eide assessed in his reports that the situation in Kosovo was a factor for regional instability and should be settled soon. On 31 October 2005, Annan informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari as his Special Envoy. The Security Council supported Eide's report and the appointment of Ahtisaari.
Insightful and respected by all parties in the Balkan conflicts, Eide is often said to have been the only international mediator who was on good terms with everybody in the troubled region and able to create dialogue in a very tense environment.
The award will be presented to Ambassador Eide during the closing plenary session at ASIS International's 8th European Security Conference which will take place in Montreux, Switzerland on 26-29 April 2009.
The theme of the conference is "Taking Security Management to the Next Level" and will feature 40 high-level educational sessions for and by international security experts. Around 500 senior security professionals, corporate executives, consultants, architects and law enforcement officials are expected to participate.