Clare Hutchinson

The Secretary General appointed Clare Hutchinson as NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security in January 2018. She is charged with helping the Alliance to shape and drive its contributions to the Women, Peace and Security agenda as well as NATO’s approach to Human Security. She facilitates an enterprise-wide approach to an ambitious agenda, providing strategic and practical guidance to support NATO in its objectives to achieve gender equality and to bolster its approach to Human Security. She also serves as NATO’s High Level Focal Point for Children and Armed Conflict. Ms. Hutchinson worked as a Senior Gender Adviser with the United Nations for over a decade. She was instrumental in setting the strategic development of Women, Peace and Security for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping in New York and in many peacekeeping missions. Her experience in the field includes directing implementation of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security agenda in Kosovo and Lebanon. Born and educated in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, Ms. Hutchinson studied theatre and started her career in broadcasting and public relations, working in public radio and freelance reporting in Canada and the UK. She later obtained her Master’s Degree in International Relations and a further Master’s Degree in Political Research from Newcastle University. She moved to Canada in 1991 and is a Canadian citizen, hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Ms. Hutchinson has long been a champion for women’s issues, supporting projects for women’s empowerment across a broad spectrum of industries. In 1992 she worked in the burgeoning ICT industry as a communications expert for internet start-ups and led projects that helped women and young people to utilise technology effectively. She continues to support women-specific technology projects.