Outgoing New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas is one of Australia's highest ranking police officers and the first from a non-English speaking background to reach the position.
He has announced his retirement from NSW Police and will turn his experience to the United Nations in the Hague.
"It's a bit of a difficult one to discuss. I can't say much about it at all at the moment it's a very temporary position as a consultant or contractor that I've agreed to assist with, once it's finished it'll be announced," Mr Kaldas said.
Mr Kaldas can say he'll be working with the United Nations in the Hague, the city in the western Netherlands which is the home of the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court.
It's a fitting next location, for one of the most decorated and well-credentialed officers in recent New South Wales police history.
Mr Kaldas says his work with multicultural communities and Arabic youth is his proudest achievement.
"I hope the one thing I've contributed towards is that kids who are growing up today can look at me and say he's Egyptian, he's an Arab, he got to Deputy Commissioner and perhaps I can do that too," he said.
Mr Kaldas arrived in Australia from Egypt as an 11-year-old.
As he climbed the police ranks, he earned respect with Sydney's migrants - often the voice calling for calm during rising racial tensions and radicalisation.
"Prevention as they say is better than cure obviously. If you reach kids who are disengaged and alienated in whatever community, but certainly in the Arabic community, and engage them at a younger age then you probably won't have anywhere near as many problems when they get older," Mr Kaldas said.
Mr Kaldas' senior commands in Australia also led to major overseas postings.
"I've brought my language and cultural awareness to bare on policing problems, and there are very clever people in various police forces in the western world - I probably just had that little bit of an edge," he said.
During a 2004 posting to Iraq, Mr Kaldas helped lead a taskforce to modernise and democratise local police.
"We tried to help them build relationships and networks in neighbouring Arab countries that had perhaps not been allowed under Sadaam's regime," he said.
He was then seconded to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, helping catch the killers of Prime Minister Rafuc Hariri.
"I hope it helped end what they call the 'Cult of Impunity,' the fact that there were assassinations of this kind in Lebanon and sometimes in the Middle East with impunity to some extent, was something that the Lebanese people and the Lebanese government wanted to end," he said.
While shrugging off suggestions he should have been the next Commissioner, Mr Kaldas said he's sad to be leaving the police force.
"I feel I've done my bit, I hope I've contributed to many things," he said.
