Special Representative for the Arctic and High North

Special Representative for the Arctic and High North

Mark Pritchard 1MARK PRITCHARD (UNITED KINGDOM)

OSCE PA President Pia Kauma (Finland) appointed Mark Pritchard (United Kingdom) the Special Representative for the Arctic and High North in September 2023.

Mark Pritchard is Member of Parliament for The Wrekin constituency in Shropshire, England. He was first elected for the´constituency in 2005 and is the longest serving MP for The Wrekin in its history. Before entering Parliament in 2005, he ran a successful marketing business.

From 2005 - 2010, Pritchard represented the United Kingdom on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and was after appointed by the Prime Minister to the United Kingdom's Joint National Security Strategy Committee (JNSSC). From 2015 to 2017 he also served on the Joint Human Rights Committee. Moreover, he served on the Department for International Development, Environmental Audit, Department of Work & Pensions, Wales, and Transport Select Committees (2005 - 2011), was appointed on the Chairman's Panel of the House of Commons (2013-2015), and involved with the Prime Minister's Trade & Investment Envoy to Armenia and Georgia (2016-2018). Since 2012 he is a Member of the UK's delegation to the Council of Europe (PACE).

Pritchard has been leader of the UK delegation to the OSCE PA in 2017-2020 and acted as OSCE PA Special Representative to South East Europe from 2018 - 2020. Since 2020, he is a Member of Intelligence and Security Committee. Mark has served on eight select committees during his time in Parliament and is also the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine.

Pritchard has also served previously as Chair of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Migration.

 

MANDATE

  • Raise awareness regarding issues relevant to the Arctic and the High North in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly;
  • Place a specific focus on challenges stemming from climate change and on its effects on society and security in and beyond the Arctic, working in close co-operation with the OSCE PA Second Committee and the Special Representative on Climate Change;
  • Promote co-operation on issues relevant to the Arctic and the High North within the OSCE PA among all Delegations, particularly within the Arctic region;
  • Maintain contact with and follow-up on the work of the OSCE regarding issues relevant to the Arctic and the High North;
  • Maintain contact with and follow-up on the work of other international organizations, civil society, academia and all relevant stakeholders dealing with and involved in the Arctic region and the High North;
  • Monitor the situation in the Arctic region and the High North and propose possible follow-ups when needed.

 

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