High Commissioner on National Minorities

Knut Vollebaek

Ambassador Knut Vollebaek was appointed to the post of High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for a three-year term on 4 July 2007, succeeding Mr. Rolf Ekéus of Sweden.

A former Norwegian foreign minister, High Commissioner Vollebaek is internationally recognized for his role in the promotion of peace and security and the protection of human rights, which have been a constant theme in his political and diplomatic career. As Norway's Foreign Minister (1997-2000), Mr. Vollebaek was the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 1999 at a time when crises fuelled by interethnic tension erupted with remarkable speed and force in the OSCE region. In this capacity as OSCE chairman, he played a key role in attempting to find a peaceful solution to the Kosovo situation in the run-up to the war and led the international community efforts to establish a presence in Kosovo and assist in its reconstruction and rehabilitation in the aftermath of the hostilities.

Ambassador Vollebaek's leadership and diplomatic skills also contributed to the adoption of two important documents at the sixth and most recent Summit of OSCE Heads of State in Istanbul (November 1999), namely, the Istanbul Summit Declaration and the Charter for European Security, which form the bedrock of post-Cold War security architecture in Europe. In 2005, Vollebaek was the Chairman of the seven-member Panel of Eminent Persons appointed to review the work of the OSCE and advise on its future reforms.

It was not only in the OSCE context that Mr. Vollebaek had to deal with the dire consequences of ethnic strife. As his country's Foreign Minister, he laid the groundwork for the Norwegian-sponsored peace process in Sri Lanka in order to assist discussions between the Sri Lanka Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam aimed at resolving the interethnic conflict.

In 1993, Ambassador Vollebaek was responsible for the negotiations between the Government of Croatia and the so-called Krajina Republic and assisted Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg in peace negotiations as Deputy Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia.

Mr. Vollebaek joined his country's foreign service in 1973 and has had an illustrious career with a history of challenging and sensitive positions at home and in New Delhi, Madrid and Harare. In 1991-1993, he was Norway's Ambassador to the Central American States (based in Costa Rica) and, most recently, served his country as the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States.

In 2001, Ambassador Vollebaek was appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav by His Majesty King Harald V of Norway for his years of public service. He has also been awarded a number of honorary titles and decorations, including honorary doctorates from the St. Olaf and Concordia Colleges in Minnesota, USA.