Kieran Prendergast

Sir Walter Kieran Prendergast (born 2 July 1942) is a British retired diplomat who was Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations.

Prendergast was born in Campbeltown, Scotland, and received his education at St Patrick's College, Strathfield in Sydney, Australia. He later went to England and attended Salesian College in Chertsey and then St Edmund Hall, Oxford. and was deeply involved in Cyprus reunification negotiations in 2004, following the Cypriot Annan Plan referendum. He was determined that a solution could be found to problems in Somalia. When he retired in 2005, following pressure from the Bush administration for the removal of key UN Secretariat officials who had opposed the Iraq war and the many subsequent errors of policy, Kofi Annan thanked him for his "outstanding service" and "invaluable advice." He was succeeded by Ibrahim Gambari.

Since his retirement from the United Nations, Prendergast has conducted research at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and is a member of the Advisory Council of Independent Diplomat. He speaks both French and Turkish fluently, and is married with four children.

Prendergast is chairman of the Anglo-Turkish Society, a trustee of the Beit Trust, and senior adviser at the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, as well as being counsellor at Melbourne-based Dragoman Global. He is also on the advisory board of Albany Associates, providing comprehensive communication strategies and solutions in challenging and transitional environments. Prendergast is the president of The British Association of Former United Nations Civil Servants.