Dr. Volker Perthes of Germany was appointed Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) on 7 January 2021.

He brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics. 

Prior to his appointment, from 2005 to 2020, Dr. Perthes served as Executive Chairman and Director of SWP (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in Berlin.

From 2015 to 2018, he served as Assistant Secretary-General, then Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, including as Chairperson of the International Syria Support Group’s Ceasefire Taskforce for Syria on behalf of the United Nations. 

Dr. Perthes also worked as Researcher and Head of Department at SWP from 1992 to 2005, and as Adjunct Professor for International Relations at Humboldt University of Berlin from 2007 to 2019.  He began his academic career as Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut (1991-1993). He holds a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Political Science from the University of Duisburg in Germany.  He is fluent in English and Arabic and has written extensively about foreign and security policy, international relations, and geopolitics, as well as regional dynamics and transitions in the Middle East.