Irene Fellin from Italy is the new NATO Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security

In November 2021, Irene Fellin succeeded Clare Hutchinson as the new NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security. Ms. Fellin is an Italian national, with more than 15 years of experience as an international consultant for UN agencies and other national institutions. She has also worked as a Senior Gender Adviser with Women in International Security (WIIS), the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome, and NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Ms. Fellin strongly believes in female leadership. In 2016 she founded the Italian chapter of Women in International Security, an organisation aimed at advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace, security and defence. She was also instrumental in establishing and coordinating the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network (MWMN), a project of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to increase the number of women involved in peacemaking efforts and to encourage the appointment of high-level women mediators at local and international level. Since 2019, she has been visiting Lecturer on “Gender, Security, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction” at Durham University (UK).

One of Ms Fellin’s main priorities will be to facilitate the implementation of the 2021-2025 NATO/Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, formally endorsed by NATO Defence Ministers on 22 October 2021. The Action Plan supports NATO Allied commitment to further promote gender equality and integrate gender perspectives in all NATO activities, across political, civilian and military structures, in policies and planning, training and education, missions and operations.