  lakhdar brahimi (algerian pronunciation: ; ; born 1 january 1934) is an algerian united nations diplomat, who served as the united nations and arab league special envoy to syria until may 14, 2014. he is also a member of the elders, a group of world leaders working for global peace. brahimi is a member of the commission on legal empowerment of the poor, the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law. he is also a member of the global leadership foundation, an organization which works to promote good governance around the world. he is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the centre for the study of global governance at the london school of economics and political science, and a governing board member of the stockholm international peace research institute. he would relinquish his post as un special envoy to syria on 31 may 2014. ==early life and education== brahimi was born in 1934 in el azizia near tablat, algeria, about 60&nbsp;km south of algiers. he was educated in algeria and in france where he studied law and political science. he joined the campaign for independence in france in 1956, representing the national liberation front in south east asia for five years.{{cite news|title=profile: lakhdar brahi
1934_births Algerian_people Algerian_politicians Ambassadors_of_Algeria_to_the_United_Kingdom Arab_people Center_for_Contemporary_Arab_Studies_faculty Foreign_ministers_of_Algeria Government_ministers_of_Algeria Living_people Members_of_the_National_Liberation_Front_(Algeria) People_involved_in_Syrian_conflict_peace_efforts United_Nations_officials