Arminka Helic is a Special Adviser

Special advisers in the United Kingdom

A special adviser works in a supporting role to the British government. With media, political or policy expertise, their duty is to assist and advise government ministers.-Role:...

 (SPAD) and Chief of Staff to the British Foreign Secretary William Hague

William Hague

William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...

.

The Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

 has described her as "Mr Hague's formidable £70,000-a-year special adviser and long-standing chief of staff", and as "Hague's 'blue-eyed Bosnian Muslim émigré'".

Background

Dr Helic is a Bosnian Muslim and foreign policy expert who became a Conservative adviser after fleeing the Yugoslav conflict of the 1990s.

Atanticism

According to a leaked dispatch from Richard LeBaron, Deputy Head of the US Mission in London, she shares Mr Hague's pronounced pro-American views. According to LeBaron she described America as "the essential country."

Israeli criticisms

She is a Bosnian Muslim who fled the genocide of the 1990. It is said that "her influence has not gone unnoticed by the Israelites".

In the aftermath of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

's 2006 attack on Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, there were rumours that Hague's apparent criticism of Israel - in his remark that "elements of the Israeli response are disproportionate" - reflected the influence of Helic, given his previously staunch support for Israel.