Jan Eliasson

Global Threats and Challenges

US-European relations

Conflict Management

Leadership Skills

Negotiation

Jan Eliasson is a renowned and respected Swedish diplomat and negotiator and an influential international personality. He was President of the UN General Assembly from 2005 to 2006 and Sweden's Foreign Minister in 2006. From 2007 to 2008 he was the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Darfur. He was recently appointed one of the UN Millennium Development Goals Ambassadors.

From 1980 to 1986 Jan was part of the UN mediation missions in the war between Iran and Iraq, headed by former Prime Minister Olof Palme. From 1988 to 1992, Jan served as Sweden's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. During this period he was also the Secretary-General's Personal Representative in the Iran-Iraq conflict. He was the first UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and was involved in different operations in Africa and the Balkans. He took initiatives on landmines, conflict prevention and humanitarian action. From 1993 to 1994 he served as mediator in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

From 1994 to 2000, Jan served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, a key position in formulating and implementing Swedish foreign policy. He was Sweden’s Ambassador to the UN in New York from 1988 to 1992, and he also served as the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Iran/Iraq.
He was the first UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and was involved in different operations in Africa and the Balkans. He took initiatives on landmines, conflict prevention and humanitarian action.

Jan has Honorary Doctorate degrees from American University, Washington D.C. and from Uppsala University, Sweden. He is also Visiting Professor at the department for Peace and Conflict Resolution of Uppsala University.

He is the Chairman of the Anna Lindh Memorial Fund of Sweden and is Member of the Advisory Group to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva. He is a frequent lecturer and author on diplomacy, humanitarian action and conflict resolution.