Dr. John Cockell is Deputy Director for Stabilisation and Peace Support Operations at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) headquarters in Ottawa; and Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Ottawa. Prior to returning to his native Canada last year, Dr. Cockell served for 15 years with the United Nations system, in peace operations and emergency response for conflict and crisis-affected countries. He served in a range of political, planning and field coordination roles in six peacekeeping operations, primarily in Africa (Sudan, Somalia, DRC) and most recently as Chief of Strategic Planning with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Prior to his assignment with MINUSMA, Dr. Cockell served as Head of Office for the field headquarters of the UN Emergency Ebola Response Office (UNEERO) in Butembo, DR Congo. He also served as a senior officer and regional manager at UN headquarters in New York, in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General in the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and with the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and as Head of External Relations and Strategic Communications for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Canada.  In 2010 he was awarded a UN21 merit award for innovation by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for his work on integrated mission planning methods. He began his career working for the then Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT, since integrated into Global Affairs Canada), in the areas of conflict prevention, human security and peacebuilding. He has published and taught on these issues in teaching and research positions in Canada, India, Sri Lanka and the UK. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MA in International Affairs from Carleton University, an MA in Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a BA (Honours) in Political Science from the University of Alberta. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK.