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About the Participants

Jan Eliasson
Jan Eliasson has been Sweden’s Ambassador to the U.S. since September 2000.

Prior to assuming this position, he was Deputy Secretary of State of Sweden for six years, a key position in formulating and implementing Swedish foreign policy. Before taking up this assignment, Mr. Eliasson was a visiting professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, lecturing and writing on topics such as mediation, conflict resolution, and UN reform. During this period he was also mediator in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

From 1988 to 1992, Mr. Eliasson was Sweden’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and from 1980 to 1986 he was part of the UN mission, headed by Prime Minister Olof Palme, that mediated in the Iran-Iraq War. He served as the Secretary General’s personal representative on Iran/Iraq from 1988 to 1992.

Mr. Eliasson was chairman of the UN General Assembly’s working group on emergency relief in 1991, vice president of the Economic and Social Council from 1991 to 1992, and chairman of the UN Trust Fund for South Africa from 1988 to 1992. In 1992, Mr. Eliasson was appointed the first Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs of the UN. He was involved in operations in Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique, and the Balkans and took initiatives on issues such as land mines, prevention, and humanitarian action.

Mr. Eliasson served as Diplomatic Advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister in 1982–83 and as Director General for Political Affairs in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1987.

Jan Eliasson was born in Göteborg, Sweden. He was an exchange student in Indiana and graduated from the Swedish Naval Academy. He earned a master’s degree in economics and was awarded honorary degrees from American University in Washington, DC, and from Göteborg University. He has been decorated by a number of governments. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles and is a frequent lecturer on foreign policy and diplomacy.

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