Albert Gerard (Bert) Koenders is a Dutch politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from October 2014 until October 2017. Prior to that,
Mr Koenders held a number of senior positions in the UN, including as  head of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire.

Between 2010 and 2011, Mr Koenders worked in South Korea as a negotiator on economics and development for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Busan Partnership agreement. He was a member of the parliamentary inquiry committee on Srebrenica and was briefly President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2006 – 2007). He was co-founder of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

From 1997 to 2007 Mr Koenders was a member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party (PvdA) serving as spokesperson on foreign affairs, human rights, trade, corporate social responsibility and international financial institutions. From February 2007 to February 2010, he was Minister for Development Cooperation.

He was also Visiting Professor of Conflict Management at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) in Bologna from 2000 to 2002.