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Jan Eliasson
Jan Eliasson, Swedish diplomat and international personality, was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden.
He is a frequent lecturer and author on diplomacy, humanitarian action and conflict resolution. Jan Eliasson was appointed Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs on March 27, 2006. He assumed the post on April 24 and continued his UN assignment in parallel with serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs until October 2006.
During this period he worked primarily with the Middle East crisis. Among his major contributions was the evacuation of more than 8000 Swedish citizens out of Lebanon and the international conferences concerning aid to Lebanon and Gaza which were held in Stockholm in August 2006.
In January 2006 Jan Eliasson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of Political Science at Uppsala University. He has collaborated with the University establishing an exchange programme with the Foreign Ministry. Jan Eliasson is also Visiting Professor at the Department for Peace and Conflict Resolution of Uppsala.
Early Career
After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1962 and the Gothenburg School of Economics and Commerce in 1965 he joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He served in Stockholm, Paris, Bonn, Washington and Zimbabwe. 1982–83 he was the Diplomatic Advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister and 1983–87 Director General for Political Affairs in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
From 1980-86 he was Olof Palme´s Advisor during the United Nations mission in the Iran-Iraq War. While serving as Swedens United Nations Ambassador in New York he worked as the Secretary General’s Personal Representative in the Iran–Iraq conflict.
In January 1992 he was appointed the first Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs of the UN where he was involved in operations aiming to stop the disaster in Somalia. In 1994 he was responsible for mediation in the conflict involving Armenia and Azerbajdzjan. From 1994-2000 he served as State Secretary of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in 2000-2005 as Sweden’s Ambassador to the United States. In 2005 he was unanimously elected President of the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking Topics
- Internationalisation/Globalisation
- Global threats and challenges
- Negotiation - Conflict management - Mediation
- International crisis and conflict areas
- US - European relations
- Sweden's foreign policy and image abroad: 'Sweden in the World'
- Risk evaluation
- Leadership
› Special Envoy for the Secretary General in the Sudan from January 2007 - present
› Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs 2006
› President of the United Nations General Assembly 2005-2006
› Honorary degree from Uppsala University 2006
› Swedish Ambassador to Washington D.C. 2000-2005
› Honorary degree from Gothenburg University (School of Economics and Commerce) 2001
› State Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1994-2000
› Honorary degree from the American University in Washington D.C. 1994
› U.N. Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 1992 - 1994
› Sweden’s United Nations Ambassador in New York 1988-1992
› Personal Representative of the Secretary General of th UN in the Iran-Iraq conflict 1988-1992
› Master’s Degree in Economics from the Gothenburg School of Economics and Commerce 1965
› Graduate of the Swedish Naval Academy 1962
