Ivo Daalder

Ivo H. Daalder (born March 2, 1960, in The Hague, Netherlands) is a U.S. diplomat who served as the U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from May 2009 to July 2013 under President Barack Obama.

He was a member of the staff of United States National Security Council (NSC) during the administration of President Bill Clinton.

Education and academic career Daalder was educated at the University of Kent, Oxford University, and Georgetown University, and received his Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was fellow at Harvard University's Center for Science and International Affairs and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. He received a Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs and an International Affairs Fellowship of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was a Senior Fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution.

One of the issues that Daalder has addressed is the lack of communication on security issues between NATO and the European Union. In October 2010 he wrote in the International Herald Tribune: "NATO and E.U. capabilities need to be in synch, and their operations need to be complementary. We should regularly engage in a robust and transparent exchange of views on a wide range of shared interests. Policy should support work in the field; those in harm's way shouldn't have to work around our failures in Brussels."

On March 27, the North Atlantic Council voted unanimously to take charge of what became known as Operation Unified Protector. The Operation had three missions; to police the arms embargo, to patrol the no-fly zone, and to protect civilians. Fourteen NATO allies took part in the actual operations, along with contingents from Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In Libya, unlike other military intervention in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States played a largely supporting role, providing intelligence, aerial surveillance and refueling, while other NATO allies, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Belgium, flew most of the bombing missions.

The first two missions were quickly put into place, but, due to the presence of Gaddafi forces in or near civilian areas, NATO was unable to strike with full force. By August 2011, however, the opposition forces were strong enough to seize Tripoli and within two months had taken control of the entire country. On October 23, 2011–233 days after Operation Unified Protector had begun—the NATO North Atlantic Council declared its mission complete. He then served as the organization's CEO from 2023 to 2025.

Daalder was appointed Professor and holder of the Kooijmans Chair in Peace, Justice and Security at Leiden University on September 1, 2026.