Lisbeth Pilegaard

Executive Director, Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD)

Lisbeth is from Denmark.

Lisbeth Pilegaard is Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD), which works with Danish political parties to support the development of well-functioning democratic political parties, multi-party systems and other institutions globally.

Pilegaard was previously the Executive Director of the Danish Fund Outside, working for the rights of socially marginalized groups. Lisbeth Pilegaard has been a member of the Board of Governors and is the chair of the Executive Committee of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) since its establishment in 2013. She has undertaken several missions with EED to Ukraine, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey/Syria, and Moldova to engage with former and current democracy activists. Pilegaard founded and ran a Foreign Policy Consultancy from 2012 to 2017 serving the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Society, think tanks and the UN.

Pilegaard has been seconded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Humanitarian Affairs Expert Adviser to support the UN High-Level Panel for Humanitarian Financing set up by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations to address global humanitarian crises by developing the ‘Grand Bargain’ launched at the Global Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.

Pilegaard previously headed the Department for Middle East & North Africa at KVINFO – a leading Danish institution on Gender, Equality and Diversity – leading the development of strategic partnerships between Denmark and the MENA region, working with over 90 partners within the public, private and civil society sector, and the academic world to help increase women’s economic, social, and political participation in the region. Pilegaard also headed the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Global Technical Support Unit and established and led NRC in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran as Regional Representative for three years. She has as NGO representative and consultant worked in more than 40 conflict ridden countries across all continents with long term missions to Iraq, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Pilegaard has served in various NGO/UN/EU committees and working groups on development and humanitarian aid coordination, coherence, and transparency. She has been a civil society member of the Danish Delegation to the UN Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) and sat in the Council of the NGO Action Aid – Denmark. She has also been a board member of Transparency International – DK Chapter, and was appointed Adviser to UN Compact Cities Programme in Australia. Pilegaard is a Steering Member of the Nordic Women Mediators Network working for the inclusion of women into peace processes globally. She has held board positions in the LIVIA Foundation, the Anna Lindh Foundation and has been the chairperson of the Danish Council for International Conflict Resolution (RIKO). Pilegaard has been a guest lecturer at different institutions as the University of Aalborg and the NATO School in Oberammergau.

Pilegaard has studied Rhetoric with a focus on peace negotiations at the University of Copenhagen.