The Emirates Diplomatic Academy announced on Wednesday the appointment of Bernardino León as the first Director General of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA), the UAE’s leading centre of excellence in diplomatic studies. Mr. Leon, will take up his position in December, 2015.
A career diplomat with rich international experience spanning more than 25 years, Mr. Leon’s most recent role was as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to Libya, a position he has held for the past year.
H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of EDA, said:
“The Emirates Diplomatic Academy serves the important role of providing world-class training, research and intellectual leadership for our future diplomats. The deep experience and understanding of global geo-politics that Mr. León brings to EDA will be a rich resource for our new generation of diplomats.
“The UAE’s diplomatic corps are the pillars of our international engagement, upholding our interests and promoting our leadership’s vision at global platforms. Developing the next generation of Emirati diplomatic talents is central to supporting our foreign policy objectives and in ensuring that our nation’s voice is heard as we pursue our outlook of promoting regional peace and stability.”
A Spanish national, Mr. León has a deep understanding of global politics, diplomacy and foreign affairs. He has worked extensively in the Middle East, playing a major role in the European Union team that followed up and supported the Taba talks as well as the Hebron, Wye River, Camp David and Shepherdstown Accords.
