Mr. Peter de Clercq is a distinguished non-resident fellow at DROP, where he will engage in impact-driven, trans-disciplinary research focussing on academic diplomacy in Africa. He is the former Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia (UNSOM) and Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in that country. He has worked with the UN and in the diplomatic field for 34 years at various duty stations in peacekeeping, political affairs, development and humanitarian operations. He retired from his UN career at the Assistant Secretary-General level. Mr de Clercq has been engaged with the UN in the fields of managing political processes, security sector development, operations and emergency management, protection of civilians and rule of law, as well as mobilisation and management of humanitarian and development assistance. He has spearheaded some of the largest humanitarian emergencies in the World as well as led development, reconstruction and Peace/State Building efforts in highly complex and fragile environments throughout his career. He was elected Chairperson of the Advisory Group to the International Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva in 2019 for a 2-year period.