Mette Gonggrijp

Mette Gonggrijp has over 20 years of experience as a Dutch diplomat and ambassador, with postings in Zimbabwe, Costa Rica (also covering Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua), and leadership roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in The Hague as Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

Her grandfather’s WWII resistance and imprisonment deeply influenced her path, leading her to focus her Master’s in European Public Administration on international relations and law. Internships at the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Asser Institute, and MFA inspired her to join the diplomatic service in 1998.

Throughout her career, Mette focused on human rights, governance, and social justice. For over a decade, she held senior leadership roles, known as a 'modern leader' who built effective, mission-driven teams.

In 2022, she left the MFA after confronting unacknowledged intergenerational trauma. She founded IMind2Lead, a social enterprise merging her diplomatic experience with new studies in trauma, mental health, and leadership (Stanford, NICABM). Believing today’s world requires conscious, holistic leadership, she now coaches mission-driven leaders across sectors toward “whole leadership” rooted in mind-body-heart alignment.