Lakhdar Brahimi was an Algerian freedom fighter who has had a long and distinguished career as a well-respected international negotiator. He served his native country as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to several nations; the Arab community as an Arab League official, where he helped to negotiate the end of the civil war in Lebanon; and many posts as envoy and advisor with the United Nations. As a UN official he helped to end conflicts and build peace in a number of troubled nations. He oversaw the UN Observer Mission during the 1994 election in South Africa when Nelson Mandela was elected, and helped end Yemen's civil war that same year. He oversaw the UN's work in Haiti and in many war-torn nations in Africa. Lakhdar Brahimi led the UN's assistance mission in Afghanistan after the Coalition forces began bombing Al-Qaeda forces, and was the UN Special Envoy in Iraq after coalition forces invaded and overthrew Saddam Hussein . 

Although he retired from the United Nations in 2005, Lakhdar Brahimi has continued to be active in building a more peaceful world. He worked with the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, an international organization collaborating with the UN Development Programme, to create strategies for development initiatives to empower those living in poverty by increasing their protections and rights. 

He was chosen as a founding member of The Elders, an international group of the world's leading social change advocates, and he is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an international organization of retired leaders, who share their knowledge and experience with today's national leaders to improve the quality of their leadership.