Are Gellein Blikeng

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Are Gellein Blikeng

Head of Middle East and North Africa Programme

are.blikeng@noref.no

Are Gellein Blikeng is Head of NOREF’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Since joining NOREF, he has led the organisation’s work on Yemen, Syria, and previously on Iran.

Prior to joining NOREF, Mr. Blikeng served as a Middle East analyst for both the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. In 2012, he worked as personal adviser to General Robert Mood during his leadership of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria.

He holds an MA in War in the Modern World from King’s College London, and has academic backgrounds in Arabic and International Relations.