[2][3] Feith was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and studied political science at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Medford, Massachusetts, United States (1970).

He also chaired the first United Nations Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at The Hague in 1997.

Feith has been active in the Balkans during his time with NATO, particularly as Political Adviser to Commander IFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and served on the EU Council for mission assessment to Darfur.

In April 2008 as European Union special representative he led a team of EU officials and approved the Constitution of the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo.

On 29 November the three men left Pristina on a special flight headed for Berlin.