Jan Eliasson

Jan Eliasson is a wellknown and respected Swedish diplomat and negotiator and an influential international personality. Previously, Jan Eliasson was President of the United Nations General Assembly (2005 - 2006) and Sweden’s Foreign Minister (2006). Since January 2007 he is the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Darfur.

Career
Jan Eliasson graduated from the Swedish Naval Academy in 1962. He earned a Master’s degree in Economics in 1965 from the Gothenburg School of Economics and Commerce.

He then joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and gained early international experience serving in Stockholm, Paris, Bonn, Washington and Zimbabwe. From 1988 to 1992, Jan Eliasson served as Sweden’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. During this period he was also the Secretary-General’s Personal
Representative in the Iran–Iraq conflict.

Jan Eliasson has Honorary Doctorate degrees from American University, Washington D.C. and from Uppsala University, Sweden. He is also Visiting Professor at the department for Peace and Conflict Resolution of Uppsala University.

Jan Eliasson is a frequent lecturer and author on diplomacy, huma-nitarian action and conflict resolution.