Women's Forum Global Meeting 2024

VF

Vanessa Frazier

Malta Mission

Permanent Representative

Description

Ambassador Frazier joined the Diplomatic Corps in 1992 as a student diplomat and was confirmed into the post of First Secretary in 1994. She served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as desk officer for the US and the Americas and later in the Mediterranean Department. She was posted to the Maltese embassies in Washington, twice in Rome, London, Brussels, and New York, where she currently represents Malta on the UN Security Council. During her tenure in London she served as the Head of the Political Unit in the Malta High Commission in London, where she handled all Malta-UK bilateral relations as well as relations with the International Maritime Organisation and the Commonwealth. In fact, during the two years leading to the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Malta in 2005, she represented the CHOGM 2005 Taskforce in London handling all aspects of that Meeting. For six years Ambassador Frazier held the post of Director of the Defence Matters Directorate within the Office of the Prime Minister. Here, as Head of the Defence Ministry, she was responsible for a wide range of international security issues, from European defence policy, Mediterranean defence and security issues, and the integrity of Malta’s sovereignty. She was also responsible for Malta’s involvement in crises management operations overseas, and advised and supported the Prime Minister in the management and direction of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) and acted as the civilian oversight of the AFM. Whilst at the helm of the Defence Directorate Ambassador Frazier and her team consolidated Malta’s response to the Arab Spring and most particularly the crises in Libya. Her Directorate also created the Humanitarian Hub in Malta which proved one of the most important contributions of Malta to the Libyan crises. Ambassador Frazier was praised for her direction on this strategy by a number of world leaders who applauded her for her “twenty-four hour availability and can do attitude to solving problems” which was attributed as being the driving force behind Malta’s success in supporting the UN Resolutions on Libya. She was appointed Ambassador for Migration and later Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She served in Brussels as Ambassador of Malta to Belgium, Luxembourg and NATO before being appointed Malta’s Ambassador to Italy in October 2013, where she was also accredited to San Marino and the Rome-based UN bodies. In January 2020 Ambassador Frazier was appointed Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations in New York as well as to the International Seabed Authority based in Jamaica. During her tenure in NY, HE Frazier has served as Vice President of the 74th UN General Assembly and in 2020 was appointed Co-Chair of the Steering Committee on Partnerships for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) SIDS, a position she was re-appointed to in 2021. In June 2021 Ambassador Frazier was also unanimously elected to the post of Chair of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) for the 76th Session on the UN General Assembly and for the first time in UN history, in this role she led an all-women Bureau. HE Frazier also served on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) for the period 2021-2022. In September 2022 HE Frazier was unanimously elected as President of the States Party to the UNCLOS and in October 2023, Ambassador Frazier was appointed by the President of the General Assembly as co-facilitator with Barbados for the process UN’s High Level Meeting in 2024 on Antimicrobial Resistance. Whilst serving on the UNSC from January 2023, HE Frazier was appointed UNSC Facilitator of the Iran/JCPOA agreement, and Chair of the UNSC Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict as well as Chair of the 1267 Sanctions Committee on Al Qaeda/Daesh. HE Frazier also held post of President of the UNSC for the month of February 2023. In 2013 Ambassador Frazier was selected as a “Woman Inspiring Europe” by the European Institute for Gender Equality. In 2020 she was listed as a “Woman Shaping Foreign Policy” by the Women Foreign Policy Group and she is also an active International Gender Champion. HE Frazier was awarded the honour of Knight in the National Order of Merit by the French Government for her work during the Libyan revolution as well as the Gran Croce of the Italian Medal of Honor and the Gran Croce Medal of Honour from the Brazilian government. She has received various other awards from local governments and entities during her postings attesting to her work to the promotion of culture and the advancement of bilateral relations with these states. In 2019 Ambassador Frazier also received the Ambassador Alfred Zarb Ambassadorial Award for lifelong diplomatic achievement, the highest award conferred by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta onto its Ambassadors. Ambassador Frazier has lectured at the University of Malta on Euromed issues to students reading an MA in Human Rights, and is an external examiner and advisor on CSDP and humanitarian issues for students reading BAs and MAs in European Studies, Governance, International Relations, Humanitarian Action, and Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She also lectures as part of the visiting scholar programme for the International Maritime Law Institute of the University of Malta. Ambassador Vanessa Frazier studied at Luther College, USA, obtaining a BA in Business Management and French, and subsequently obtained her Masters in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Malta, with a focus in International Law. In 2019 her alma mater, Luther College conferred a Doctorate Degree Honoris Causa onto her in recognition of her career achievements and she now serves proudly on the Board of Reagents of this College as well as being an Honorary Trustee of the UN International School in NY. She volunteered with the Red Cross in Washington DC as well as the Mentor Foundation and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in London. She also represented Malta in several national and international Judo competitions, a sport which she practiced for over 35 years and for which she was national champion in her weight category for much of that time.

Session featuring this Speaker

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Plenary
Oct 24, 2024
1:40 PM2:15 PM
Online

(Re)connecting nations: The impact of feminist diplomacy

Description
Feminist diplomacy is often understood as states promoting the presence of women in their foreign affairs and international relations. However, the notion of feminist diplomacy goes beyond that, and touches upon a tradition of pacifism. With the current conflicts, and the responses we have been witnessing of states promoters of feminist foreign policies breaking from pacifist approaches, there is an open debate on what feminist diplomacy truly means today and its power to foster cooperation and peace.
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