Youssef Mahmoud

Youssef Mahmoud
Youssef Mahmoud in 2017
CitizenshipTunisian
EducationPhD in Linguistics
Alma materGeorgetown University, University of Tunis
OccupationsDiplomat, academic
EmployerInternational Peace Institute
OrganizationsAfrican Leadership Centre, King's College London
Known forUN peace operations; leadership in peacebuilding
Notable workWhose Peace Are We Building? Leadership for Peace in Africa (2021)
TitleVisiting Professor

Youssef Mahmoud is a Tunisian diplomat, academic, and peacebuilding practitioner. He is Senior Adviser Emeritus at the International Peace Institute (IPI) and Visiting Professor at the African Leadership Centre (ALC), King's College London, where he serves as a leading practitioner and research fellow on the Centre’s Practice of Leadership Programme.[1][2] Mahmoud is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General who headed peace operations in Burundi and Chad/Central African Republic and served on the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Peace Operations.[3][4]

Education

Youssef Mahmoud earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Tunis, specializing in American and British Studies. Mahmoud later pursued graduate studies at Georgetown University in the United States, where he obtained a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics.[5]

Career

Mahmoud joined the United Nations in 1981 and served in various capacities, including:

  • Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) from June 2010.[6]
  • Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Burundi (BINUB) from 2007 to 2009.[3]
  • United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Guyana and Cambodia (UNTAC).
  • Director in the UN Department of Political Affairs and Head of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

In 2015, Mahmoud served on the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) and the High-Level Advisory Group for the Global Study on Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.[3] In 2019, he led an independent strategic review of the UN peace operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).[3]

Academic and leadership roles

Before joining the UN, Mahmoud was Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Tunis and Chair of the English Department at the Bourguiba Institute of Modern Languages.[5] He is Visiting Professor and leading practitioner at the African Leadership Centre (ALC), King's College London, where he contributes to research and training on peacebuilding and governance.[1][2] He mentors emerging African leaders through the Practice of Leadership Programme and co-authored publications in ALC’s Leading Practitioners Reflection Series.[7] Mahmoud also serves as **Senior Adviser Emeritus** at the International Peace Institute, where he provides strategic guidance on peacebuilding and multilateral diplomacy.[3]

Selected publications

  • Whose Peace Are We Building? Leadership for Peace in Africa (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021). ISBN 9780755618880.[4][7]
  • “What Does Collective Leadership Have To Do With COVID-19 and Peace?” – IPI Global Observatory, May 2021.[8]
  • “Peace as the Norm: Sustaining Peace in Africa” – IPI Global Observatory, July 2022.[8]
  • “Financing for Peacebuilding: Beyond Money” – IPI Global Observatory, October 2022.[8]
  • “A New Agenda for Peace: Making Peace Plural and Healing Historical Traumas” – IPI Global Observatory, April 2023.[8]
  • “From Leadership to Healership: Cultivating a Future Worthy of Generations to Come” – co-authored with Joni Carley, Jude Currivan, and Grant Storry, *Kosmos Journal*, Volume 25 Issue 4.[9]

Personal life

He is married with two children.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Youssef Mahmoud". King's College London. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Professor Youssef Mahmoud". African Leadership Centre. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Youssef Mahmoud". International Peace Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Youssef Mahmoud". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Secretary-General Appoints Youssef Mahmoud of Tunisia as Deputy Special Representative for Burundi". United Nations. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  6. ^ "New Head For UN Mission In Chad And CAR". Scoop. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Whose Peace Are We Building? Leadership for Peace in Africa". ACCORD. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d "Articles by Youssef Mahmoud". International Peace Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  9. ^ "From Leadership to Healership". Kosmos Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
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