Vera Benatar has been Head of Foreign and Security Policy Division since January 2025. Previously, she worked with the Center for International Peace Operations, the Middle East Division of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the UN Mission in Iraq, the UN Liaison Office in Vienna and various international and non-governmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Germany. 

She studied Political Science and International Security in Berlin, Paris, St. Petersburg and Nancy.