Jan Kenneth Eliasson (born 17 September 1940) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

diplomat who was

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations The deputy secretary-general of the United Nations is the deputy to the secretary-general of the United Nations. The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the secretary-general, help manage Secretariat operat ...

from July 2012 to December 2016. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Eliasson served as

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 24 April to 6 October 2006. Eliasson was appointed as Governing Board Chair of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in April 2017 and assumed his role as of 1 June 2017.

Biography

Jan Eliasson was born in a working-class family in Gothenburg in Sweden. His father John was a taxi driver and metal worker who was engaged in the labor union. He was an AFS exchange student in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and was commissioned a naval officer in the reserve after training at the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigsskolan, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issue ...

in 1962. During his time in the United States, he once met

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. In 1965 he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from the School of Business, Economics and Law at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

where he was also a president of the local

AIESEC AIESEC is an international youth-run, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on em ...

committee. He also holds

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from American University (1994), University of Gothenburg (2001) and

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

(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 The Ministry for Foreign Affairs ( sv, Utrikesdepartementet, UD) is responsible for Swedish foreign policy. History The ministry for Foreign Affairs was created in 1791 when King Gustav III set up ''Konungens kabinett för den utrikes brevv ...

. 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 The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

. From 1988 to 1992 he served as Sweden's

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in New York, where he also served as the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

's Personal Representative on Iran/Iraq. In 1991, Eliasson was chairman of the

U.N. General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

'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 Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, Sudan,

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. 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). From 1994 to 1999, Eliasson served as Swedish

State Secretary for Foreign Affairs The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs ( sv, Kabinettssekreterare) is the highest position below the rank of cabinet minister at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. , Jan Knutsson is State Secretary.Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 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 Hans Göran Persson (; born 20 January 1949) is a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Persson was first elected to the Swedish Parliam ...

. Following the

2006 Swedish general election General elections were held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Riksdag, the Swedish national legislature. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 fixed seats in 29 constituencies and 39 adjustment seats, used to ensure that p ...

when his party lost the election, he announced that he will teach at Uppsala University. Eliasson condemned the 2006 Lebanon War: "The military offensive of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

is an extremely dangerous escalation of the situation in the region". He also condemned the attacks of Hezbollah. In December 2006, then U.N. Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

announced Eliasson as

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

to Darfur, Sudan. He left this mission in June 2008. 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 Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...

and he currently sits on the advisory board of the

Alliance for Peacebuilding An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. 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 Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara �רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...

. 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. He always carries in his pocket a print of the UN charter. He was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') ( English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gu ...

in 2016. On 23 October 2017, the Tallberg Foundation announced that its Global Leadership Prize will henceforth be named after Jan Eliasson. On 27 April 2017, the Swedish Government appointed Jan Eliasson as Chair of the

SIPRI Sipri may refer to: * As-Safira, a city in Syria, known in pre-Islamic times as Sipri *Shivpuri, a city and a municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India, formerly known as Sipri *Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm Internati ...

Governing Board. Eliasson has formally assumed the position as of 1 June 2017. On 13 May 2022, Eliasson published a memoir titled ''Ord och Handling : ett liv i diplomatins tjänst'' ("Words and Action : a life in service of diplomacy").

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 supporter.

References

External links

Biography at the Embassy of Sweden

* ttp://wateraid.se/ 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
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliasson, Jan 1940 births Ambassadors of Sweden to the United States Articles containing video clips Living people People from Gothenburg Permanent Representatives of Sweden to the United Nations Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Sommar (radio program) hosts Swedish Social Democratic Party politicians Deputy Secretaries-General of the United Nations Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations University of Gothenburg alumni Swedish officials of the United Nations Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Illis quorum