7-2014 to 10-2018

The United Nations appointed Swedish diplomat Stefan de Mistura as the UN envoy to Syria, succeeding Lakhdar Brahimi. His assumption of the role coincided with a new factor that changed international calculations: the emergence of the “Islamic State” as a global and regional threat following its capture of Mosul in June 2014, which significantly increased its power through the weapons and vast amounts of money it acquired.

Stefan de Mistura sought to garner international and regional support for his proposals regarding the establishment of “frozen” conflict zones in various areas of Syria, particularly in the city of Aleppo, and to reach temporary ceasefires or reconciliations that would allow for self-administration in these areas. These administrations would be expressed through locally elected or consensus-based councils that would represent the armed opposition factions, depending on the size and effectiveness of each faction.

While de Mistura was working politically with two main axes—one comprising Washington and European and Gulf states supportive of the opposition, and the other including Russia, Iran, and the allied states of the Syrian regime—developments on the ground were moving towards the establishment of a tripartite alliance between Turkey, Russia, and Iran, which would control the Syrian file and impose settlements and agreements independently of the United Nations.

De Mistura holds both Italian and Swedish citizenship and is a former member of the Italian government. He previously worked as an intern with the World Food Programme in Cyprus in 1970 and began his career with the United Nations as a project officer in the World Food Programme in Sudan in 1971.