Jan Kenneth Eliasson (born 17 September 1940) is a Swedish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

who was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from July 2012 to December 2016. A member of the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( sv, Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti ; S/SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( sv, link=no, Socialdemokraterna ), is a social-de ...

, Eliasson served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 24 April to 6 October 2006. Eliasson was appointed as Governing Board Chair of the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well ...

in April 2017 and assumed his role as of 1 June 2017.

Biography

Jan Eliasson was born in a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

family in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. 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 ...

, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and was commissioned a naval officer in the reserve after training at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1962. During his time in the United States, he once met John F. Kennedy. 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 anal ...

from the

School of Business, Economics and Law The Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg ( sv, Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet) is one of Sweden's leading business schools, located in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1923 as an independen ...

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 h ...

s from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

(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. From 1982 to 1983 he served as Diplomatic Advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until ...

, 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 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 Security Counci ...

. From 1988 to 1992 he served as Sweden's Permanent Representative 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 harmoni ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 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'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 Constitut ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

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. 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 The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

, 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 Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

cabinet of Göran Persson. Following the 2006 Swedish general election when his party lost the election, he announced that he will teach at Uppsala University. Eliasson condemned the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

: "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 Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

. 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 ...

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...

. 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. 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. 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 ...

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 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 , neighboring_municipalities= Altstätten (SG), Appenzell (AI), Bühler (AR), Eichberg (SG), Rüte (AI), Schlatt-Haslen (AI), Trogen (AR) , twintowns= } Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in ...

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