Youssef Mahmoud

Dr. Youssef Mahmoud is Senior Adviser Emeritus at the International Peace Institute supporting the sustainable development and peace operations programs and serving as a focal point on mediation and prevention policies and practices. He is a former UN Under-Secretary-General and has headed peace operations in Burundi, the Central African Republic and Chad.

Prior to these assignments, he held other senior United Nations positions, notably as UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Director in the UN Department of Political Affairs, and Head of the Office of the Undersecretary-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

Follow his work on The Global Observatory

Youssef Mahmoud in Kosmos

From Leadership to Healership

This co-authored essay proposes a radical evolution of leadership—from directing others to healing the whole. Drawing on science, spiritual wisdom, and the urgency of the polycrisis, the authors frame leadership as a sacred act of stewardship across generations.

Published in Volume 25 Issue 4

Coming Soon

The Village Way

Practices for Belonging in a Fragmented World

For thousands of years, we lived according to the principles of village life. Then, around the 14th Century, our lives were reorganized by rulers around growth and accumulation – often at the cost of community, equity, and the living Earth. What would it mean to return to simplicity, and mutual care?

Join us for a 9-month inquiry into this question, exploring how we participate together in a time that calls us back to community, resilience, and shared life,