Born in Yerevan and raised in Canada, Ms. Hasmik Egian was the Director of the UN Security Council Affairs Division (SCAD) – the largest Division in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) between March 2016 and June 2022. 

Over the span of 30 years Ms. Egian held senior leadership and management positions in the United Nations system, in the areas of political and civil affairs, public information, and programme management.  Ms. Egian’s UN assignments were wide-ranging -  from peacekeeping (Cambodia, Tajikistan), peacebuilding (Somalia, Syria) to humanitarian and development work (Iraq, UNICEF in Tanzania and the Middle East Region).  She served both at the UN headquarters in New York, as well as in the field in complex conflict and post-conflict operational environments.  Prior to her leadership of the Security Council Affairs Division, Ms․ Egian served as Chief of Staff in two UN Special Political Missions:  Somalia (2012 – 2014) and the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria (2014-1015).  She retired from the UN in June 2022.

Since retiring, Ms․ Egian has had articles published with a particular focus on the UN Security Council, and developments in the South Caucasus, having also delivered lectures on the same in a number of universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Armenia and Japan.

Ms. Egian holds an MA in political science (Soviet and East European Studies) from Carleton University in Ottawa and a BA in Russian Literature and Political Science from McGill University in Montreal.  She is fluent in English, French, Russian and Armenian.