H.E Wolfgang Bruelhart, lic.iur., is a senior Swiss diplomat currently serving as Swiss Special Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs since February 2022. He previously served as Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the United Nations, and other International Organizations in Vienna (2019–2022). From 2012 to 2019, he was Assistant State Secretary and Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the Swiss Foreign Ministry in Bern, where he also acted as Deputy Head of the Task Force on Middle and Near East Policy and facilitated the 2016 U.S.–Iran prisoner exchange negotiations in Geneva. His distinguished diplomatic career includes serving as Swiss Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (2008–2011), Head of the Human Rights Policy Section and of the Task Force on the Human Rights Council in Bern, Cultural Counsellor at the Swiss Embassy in London, and Counsellor at the Swiss Embassy in Sarajevo during the post-war reconstruction period. He began his federal service as Private Secretary to Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti in both the Foreign and Home Affairs Departments. Throughout his career, he has undertaken advanced training in peace mediation and high-level negotiations and was awarded the “Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award” in 2016 for his cultural contributions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.