The Baroness Helic | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 18 September 2014 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arminka Helić (1968-04-20)20 April 1968 (age 57) Gračanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
Arminka Helic, Baroness Helic (Bosnian:Helić; born 20 April 1968),[1] is a BritishConservative politician andlife peer fromBosnia and Herzegovina who served as aspecial adviser to Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague.[2][3]
Helic was nominated to theHouse of Lords byDavid Cameron and was created alife peer on 18 September 2014 asBaroness Helic, ofMillbank in theCity of Westminster.[4] She wasintroduced to the House of Lords on 24 November 2014.[5]
Helic was born inGračanica, SFR Yugoslavia.[6]
Helic is aBosnia and Herzegovina foreign policy expert who became aConservative Party adviser after fleeing theYugoslav wars in the 1990s.[7] She has advised numerous Conservatives in opposition and government from 1998 onwards, and was described byMatthew D'Ancona as "one of the most impressive foreign policy experts in the Government".[8] Known for her discretion,[9] there is little in the public domain on her personal views, although she is pro-American. According to a leaked dispatch from Richard LeBaron, Deputy Head of the US Mission in London, she sharesWilliam Hague's pronounced pro-U.S. views and described the United States as "the essential country."[10]
Helic is credited with persuading UKForeign Secretary William Hague to launch the UK's GlobalSexual Violence Initiative.[11] Hague worked withAngelina Jolie to draw attention to the issue at a four-day summit in 2014.[12] In October 2017, Helic was named as one of London's most influential figures for her refugee work.[13]
In November 2015, Helic was elected to the Board of the Trust Fund for Victims as the representative of Western European Countries and Other States. The Trust, established under the auspices of theRome Statute of the International Criminal Court, encourages restorative justice through the provision of assistance to victims of crimes that fall within the Court's jurisdiction.
In May 2016, Helic was appointed to the House of Lords International Relations Committee.[14]
