Jan Eliasson
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Jan Kenneth Glenn Eliasson (born 17 September 1940) is a Swedish diplomat and Social Democratic politician. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly from 2005 to 2006 and Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs from 24 April 2006 to 6 October 2006. He is currently the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy to Darfur, Sudan.
[edit] Biography
Jan Eliasson was born in a working-class family in Gothenburg. He was an AFS exchange student in Indiana, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and graduated from the Swedish Naval Academy in 1962. In 1965 he earned a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Gothenburg's School of Business, Economics and Law. He also holds honorary degrees from American University (1994), Gothenburg University (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 U.N. 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. Undersecretary-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.
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.
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.
In December 2006, then U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Eliasson as special envoy to Darfur, Sudan.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Embassy of Sweden
- Jan Eliasson elected President of the UN General Assembly - press release from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- President of the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly
- Speech by Jan Eliasson to the U.N. General Assembly
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anders Ferm |
Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations 1988–1992 |
Succeeded by Peter Oswald |
| 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 |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Laila Freivalds |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 2006 |
Succeeded by Carl Bildt |
|
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