Maria Pade Lange

Maria Pade Lange is a seasoned peacebuilding and development specialist with over two decades of international experience in conflict prevention, resilience programming, and strategic advisory work. Her career spans fragile and conflict-affected regions, with more than ten years of field-based leadership in the Great Lakes region of Africa, including DR Congo and Burundi.

Maria held several senior positions at International Alert, including Country Director in DR Congo and Senior Program Officer in Burundi. Her leadership was instrumental in growing Alert’s country portfolio, producing influential conflict analyses and shaping donors’ stabilization and peacebuilding strategy in the Congo. She has led political dialogues, designed cross-border trade programs, and developed conflict-sensitive approaches that have been adopted and scaled by international actors. In her role as Global Lead on Addressing Root Causes of Conflict and Displacement at the Danish Refugee Council, Maria spearheaded the development of global tools and strategies to integrate peacebuilding with climate resilience, strengthening the organisation’s international profile, partnerships and program quality.

Maria holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen. Fluent in Danish, English, and French, she is a skilled communicator and strategic thinker, known for her ability to translate complex development challenges into actionable solutions.