Knut Vollebæk (born 11 February 1946 in Oslo) is a former Norwegian diplomat to the United States, (2001–2007, and centrist politician ( Norwegian Christian Democratic Party). He is currently a member of the

International Commission on Missing Persons The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is an intergovernmental organization that addresses the issue of persons missing as a result of armed conflicts, violations of human rights, and natural disasters. It is headquartered in The ...

Board of Commissioners and heads a government commission investigating the situation of Norwegian Travellers.

Education

He was educated at the Norwegian School of Economics. He also attended the University of Oslo and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as completing studies in the French language and culture at Institut Catholique de Paris and in the Spanish language and culture at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid.

Career

In September 2013, he was elected to the Board of Commissioners of the

(ICMP). Vollebæk was the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities from 2007 until 2013. Prior to that, Vollebæk served as

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident repre ...

between 2001 and 2007 and as

Foreign Minister 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 coun ...

of Norway from 1997 to 2000. He was chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 1999. Vollebæk's diplomatic career includes assignments to New Delhi, Madrid and Harare. He was Norwegian Ambassador to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the n ...

in 1991–1993 and Assistant Secretary General at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 until he became Foreign Minister in 1997. He served as Deputy Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia in 1993. He was appointed

Primus inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...

of the Panel of Eminent Persons on Strengthening the Effectiveness of the OSCE in 2005. He was Chairman of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 1999–2000 and Chairman of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in 1997–1998. Between October 1989 and November 1990, he was the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollebaek, Knut Ambassadors of Norway to Costa Rica Ambassadors of Norway to the United States Christian Democratic Party (Norway) politicians Foreign Ministers of Norway Norwegian School of Economics alumni Living people 1946 births University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Politicians from Oslo