Two Majors, Four Careers

Oliver Hegglin ’13 has served on peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Mali, and most recently, Bosnia-Herzegovina as a member of the Swiss Armed Forces International Command. Also, he has provided training for others who are to be deployed abroad, provided security analysis for Credit Suisse, and written nearly three dozen articles for the Human Security Centre, a London-based think tank.

Earlier in his still-young career, Hegglin worked in Switzerland and Bolivia for Suyana, a nonprofit organization helping rural communities worldwide. He is currently a board member of the Yvonne and Peter Imholz Foundation, which supports projects by small NGOs and individuals that further any of seven United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

How did you end up working in peacekeeping? 

Being back in Switzerland after Washington College sparked my interest in peacekeeping since I had been interested in security affairs. I applied for my first mission during the second year of my master’s degree at the Geneva Graduate Institute as a way to practice what I’d been preaching. 

You were in Bosnia-Herzegovina from April through October of this year as an officer-in-command for the eight-person team based in Mostar. What was that experience like? 

These Liaison and Observation Teams (LOTs) are stationed around the country, and we live in the community. Although the work we do is rather civilian in nature, we wear uniforms to be recognized as members of the UN-mandated and EU-led international military peace mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, EUFOR Althea. 

We go out as representatives of the international community, driving patrols in our white cars marked with the word “EUFOR,” the EU flag, and the Swiss cross. We talk with people ranging from high-level politicians and police chiefs to NGOs and local business owners and anyone else who wishes to express themselves to us to get a sense of their concerns, how they perceive different political developments, and whether there is a risk of potential conflict again. 

We write reports and send them to headquarters. They use these reports to determine how to use the resources they have, which many times are not much at all, and just so the EU and the U.N. know what’s happening in the country and can respond appropriately in case there’s the feeling that tensions might rise again. The solution that ended the Bosnian war was imposed, and it’s been the same imposed solution since without any progress. So it hasn’t solved many of the underlying issues that continue to today. 

Do you find it rewarding to contribute to these efforts?

In Bosnia and Kosovo, many locals told us we were viewed, for the most part, very positively. Every now and then, you have people who are not as receptive or welcoming. Some people see uniformed personnel as providing a sense of security. For others, this can bring back memories of the war 30 years ago.

Mostly, the feeling I get is that they want to move on with their lives. The priority is developing the country, creating good economic opportunities, and providing education for the youth.

When I hear stories of people valuing our presence here, I feel that justifies our contribution to this mission. Being here on the ground, being in touch with the people, shows that the international community still cares.

Was there any event or incident that stands out to you from your time in Bosnia? 

We went to monitor from a respectful distance the exhumation of what was presumed to be a mass grave. You read about all the atrocities committed during the Bosnian war and the Yugoslav wars in general, but going there made it really hit home.

There was an elderly lady there whose husband was presumed to be at that location, and she gave us a statement. For many people, it’s in the history books, but this showed why it is still important for us, for the peacekeepers, to be there as witnesses to the ongoing post-conflict developments since it
is still very sensitive.

You’re a junior fellow at the Human Security Centre. How has the combination of your education at Washington College, your work in the private sector, and your peacekeeping missions influenced your analysis of political situations for that think tank?

After Mali, I spent five months looking for a job, and that was hard. However, one of the positions I found during this job search was at the Human Security Centre as a research assistant. It was an opportunity for me to maintain my academic fitness. Since I was following the news anyway and have an interest in geopolitics, it was a way to combine those interests with a platform where I could publish articles (and put them on my CV to show that I can still research and write).

I know my work is being read. I always like posting on LinkedIn and seeing the numbers go up, who from what institutions have read it, how many people have read it, and where they are. I know the think tank does have a large audience. I like to think it’s being used or at least improving someone’s know-how. 

Serving on these peacekeeping missions, that idea of practicing what you preach, you’ve got some on-the-ground perspective to share that others may not have. 

Yeah, that’s always my selling point when I apply for jobs now because I have the academic background and the practical experience.

My four priorities, my four careers—nonprofit, military,
academia, and the private sector—allow me to apply what I learned academically at Washington College and later at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Those four very different spheres are all connected through my interdisciplinary past, kickstarted at Washington, which laid the foundation for these varied applications. In the end, the skills and know-how are the same for each one. The difference is how the information and skills I provide are used.