Jan Eliasson
Jan Kenneth Eliasson (born 17 September 1940) is a Swedish diplomat who has been Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1 July 2012.[1][2] A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Eliasson served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 24 April to 6 October 2006.
Biography
Jan Eliasson was born in a working-class family in Gothenburg in Sweden.He was an AFS exchange student in Indiana, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and was commissioned a naval officer in the reserve after training at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1962. In 1965 he earned a master's degree in economics from the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg where he was also a president of the local AIESEC committee. He also holds honorary degrees from American University (1994), University of Gothenburg (2001) and Uppsala University (2005).
Eliasson has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles and is a frequent lecturer on foreign policy and diplomacy. Since 1988 he has been a visiting lecturer on mediation, conflict resolution and UN reform at Uppsala University.
Eliasson started his diplomatic career in 1965, when he was employed at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. From 1982 to 1983 he served as Diplomatic Advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, and from 1983 to 1987 as Director General for Political Affairs in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
From 1980 to 1986, Eliasson was part of the U.N. mission, mediating in the Iran–Iraq War. From 1988 to 1992 he served as Sweden's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, where he also served as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on Iran/Iraq.
In 1991, Eliasson was chairman of the U.N. General Assembly's working group on emergency relief and Vice President of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from 1991 to 1992. In 1992 he was appointed as the first U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He was involved in operations in Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique and the Balkans. He also took initiatives on issues such as land mines, prevention and humanitarian action.
In 1993–94 Eliasson served as mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).[3]
From 1994 to 1999, Eliasson served as Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. From 2000 to 2005 he served as Sweden's Ambassador to Washington, D.C., United States. On 13 June 2005 he was unanimously elected President of the United Nations General Assembly, for its sixtieth session. He served as President from 13 September 2005 to 11 September 2006.[3]
From 24 April 2006 to 6 October 2006 he also served as Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Social Democratic cabinet of Göran Persson. Following the Swedish general election, 2006 when his party lost the election, he announced that he will teach at Uppsala University.[3]
In December 2006, then U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Eliasson as Special Envoy to Darfur, Sudan. He left this mission in June 2008.[3]
In March 2009, Eliasson gave a lecture entitled "Armed Conflict: The Cost to Civilians" at the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.
Eliasson is an Eminent Member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation and he currently sits on the advisory board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Eliasson is Chair of WaterAid Sweden. Since 2010 he serves in the UN Secretary-General's Advocates Group for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Eliasson is a former Board member of DARA.
On 2 March 2012, Jan Eliasson was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He took office as Deputy Secretary-General on 1 July 2012.[3] He always carries in his pocket a print of the UN charter.
Personal life
Eliasson is married to Kerstin Eliasson, former Swedish State Secretary for Education and Science. They have three children: Anna, Emilie and Johan. He is a GAIS (The Mackerels) supporter, Gothenburg's second football team, after IFK Göteborg.[4]
References
- ↑ Kihlström, Staffan (2 March 2012). "Eliasson får FN-toppjobb". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ↑ Näslund, Lars (2 July 2012). "Här svär Jan Eliasson eden - blir ny FN-topp". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 United Nations Web Services Section. "Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations". un.org. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ Lukins, Emma (29 March 2011). "Gais tar till diplomathjälp för Wanderson". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 September 2015.
External links
- Biography at the Embassy of Sweden
- President of the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly
- WaterAid in Sweden
- Lecture transcript and video of Mr. Eliasson's speech at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, March 2009
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anders Ferm |
Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations 1988–1992 |
Succeeded by Peter Osvald |
| Preceded by None |
U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 1992–1994 |
Succeeded by Peter Hansen |
| Preceded by Lars-Åke Nilsson |
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1994–1999 |
Succeeded by Hans Dahlgren |
| Preceded by Rolf Ekéus |
Ambassador of Sweden to the United States 2000–2005 |
Succeeded by Gunnar Lund |
| Preceded by Jean Ping |
President of the United Nations General Assembly 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Laila Freivalds |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 2006 |
Succeeded by Carl Bildt |
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