Bob Deen succeeds Monika Sie as Executive Director of the Clingendael Institute

As of 1 July, Bob Deen will become the new executive director of the Clingendael Institute. He will succeed Monika Sie Dhian Ho, who has led Clingendael since 2016. Bob has been working at Clingendael since 2020 as an expert and researcher in the fields of security and defence, with a focus on Russia and Eastern Europe.

Bob Deen currently serves as head of the Security Unit in Clingendael’s research department. He is looking forward to taking on the role of director and extends special thanks to Monika Sie. “Through its research, training, and analysis of international relations, Clingendael fulfills an important societal role in an uncertain geopolitical era. I consider it a great honor to lead the institute and succeed Monika.”

Before joining the institute, Bob worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), among other organizations. There, he led the Department for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia within the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities. He studied International Relations at the University of Groningen and Nationalism and Ethnicity at the London School of Economics and Political Science, among other subjects.

It is a great honor for me to lead Clingendael and succeed Monika

Especially since the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bob has appeared frequently in the media, and his expertise is in high demand both in the Netherlands and internationally. He coordinates an international expert group that advises governments on achieving sustainable peace in Ukraine and regularly publishes on European security issues.

After ten years, Monika Sie Dhian Ho’s term as Executive Director is coming to an end. During that time, both the world and the institute, under her leadership, have changed significantly. “It makes me proud and happy that, with some 120 colleagues, we have made the Clingendael ship seaworthy. We can navigate the current harsh geopolitical winds. It’s wonderful that the best candidate to succeed me also comes from this amazing team itself.”

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Chair of the Supervisory Board, also welcomes Bob as the new director. “A driven man with a wealth of experience in a turbulent and unpredictable geopolitical environment.”

In addition to Executive Director Bob Deen, Clingendael’s executive management also includes Business Director Peter Haasbroek.