Robert E. Sorenson assumed his duties as UNMIK’s Chief of Staff on March 27, 2009, and serves as the Special Representative of the Secretary General’s deputy.

 

A career U.S. diplomat, Mr. Sorenson left U.S. government service in 2007 following his assignment as Chief of Mission to the Netherlands Antilles and  Aruba (2004-2007).  Mr. Sorenson has had extensive service in the  Balkan region serving as U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Pristina (2003-4) and  Consul General in Belgrade (1993-96). In addition, Mr. Sorenson served with the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) as media and political advisor (1997-8) and as an international monitor with the follow-on OSCE Mission in Vukovar (1998).

 

As part of his foreign service,  he has served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Reykjavik, Iceland (1998-2001) and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2001-2003).

 

In addition to his service in Washington, D.C. , Mr. Sorenson’s other assignments included  serving as Country Coordinator for consular and refugee affairs in  Ankara, Turkey (1988-92), and consular officer in Curacao (1985-87), Amsterdam, (1979-82) and Tehran, Iran (1978-79).

 

Mr. Sorenson holds a M.A. degree from the U.S. Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies (1997), a M.A. degree in political science from Columbia University (1976) and B.A. degreein East Asian Political Studies from Boston University (1974).

 

Mr. Sorenson is married and has a daughter and a son.