Brussels Forum Session: Night Owl: The Future of Russia- Potential Scenarios and Their Implications for International Security
Baiba Braže was appointed assistant secretary general of NATO for ublic diplomacy in May 2020. The Public Diplomacy Division works to raise the Alliance’s profile with audiences worldwide and to build support for Alliance operations and policies. Braže advises the Secretary General on issues within her remit, oversees the coordination of all strategic communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies and commands, and also directs all public diplomacy activities (except press and media, which are directed by the NATO Spokesperson on behalf of the Secretary General).
Braže served most recently as Latvia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom (20162020), prior to which she was director general of security policy and international organizations (20112016) and director general of the Communications Directorate (February 2016-July 2016) at the Latvian Foreign Ministry in Riga.
Ambassador Braže previously served as Latvia’s ambassador to the Netherlands and permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (20032008), prior to which she was director of the Europe Department and served as foreign policy and national security advisor to the prime minister in Riga. She has held numerous other posts since joining the Foreign Ministry in August 1993, both at home (Legal Department, International Organizations Department) and abroad (United Nations, New York).
Braže holds two master’s degrees from the University of Latvia: one in law (1990) and another in communication science (2002). In addition to Latvian, Ambassador Braže is fluent in English and Russian, and speaks Dutch proficiently.