European Conference
February 9 and 10, 2024 | Cambridge, MA

Baiba Braže

Ambassador for Special Assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Latvia and former Assistant Secretary General at NATO

Ambassador Baiba Braže currently serves as Ambassador for Special Assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. Ambassador Braže was appointed Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at NATO from May 2020 until June 2023. The Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) works to raise the Alliance’s profile with audiences world-wide and to build support for Alliance operations and policies.

Ambassador Braže advised the Secretary General on issues within her remit, oversaw the coordination of all Strategic Communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies and commands, and also directed all public diplomacy activities (except press and media, which are directed by the NATO Spokesperson on behalf of the Secretary General). ASG PDD directs the Public Diplomacy Division (PDD), which plays a key role in conveying the Alliance’s strategic and political messages to opinion formers and to the public in general.

Ambassador Braže served most recently as Latvia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom (August 2016-early May 2020), prior to which she was Director General of Security Policy and International Organizations (June 2011-January 2016) and Director General of the Communications Directorate (February 2016-July 2016) at the Latvian Foreign Ministry in Riga. Ambassador Braže previously served as Latvia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (July 2003-August 2008), prior to which she was Director of the Europe Department and served as Foreign Policy and National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister in Riga. She has held numerous other posts since joining the Foreign Ministry in August 1993, both at home (Legal Department, International Organizations Department) and abroad (United Nations, New York).

Baiba Braže was born in Riga, Latvia. She holds two master’s degrees from the University of Latvia: one in Law (1990) and another in Communication Science (2002). In addition to Latvian, Ambassador Braže is fluent in English and Russian, and speaks Dutch proficiently.