Newsroom
New minority commissioner takes up post
THE HAGUE 2 July 2001
THE HAGUE, 2 July 2001 (OSCE) - Rolf Ekeus today took up the post of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. His mandate is to provide 'early warning' and, as appropriate, 'early action' at the earliest possible stage in regard to tensions involving national minority issues which, in his opinion, could develop into conflicts in the OSCE area.
Ambassador Ekeus has a long and distinguished career in the Swedish diplomatic service. During his forty years career he has served his country in Bonn, Nairobi, New York, The Hague and, most recently, was Swedish Ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Ekeus was active in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) during the period of post-Communist transition. He headed the Swedish delegation to the CSCE from 1988 to 1992 and played a key role in drafting the Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990).
Arms control and disarmament have been recurrent themes in Mr. Ekeus' career. He is best known for his work as Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) where he led the weapons inspectors between 1991 and 1997. Previously he was Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva from 1983 to 1988 and Chairman of the CD's negotiations on the Chemical Weapons Convention from 1984 to 1987. He is still an active member of a number of advisory boards in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Recently Ambassador Ekeus has been preparing two reports for the Swedish Government. The first is an analysis and assessment of Sweden's security policy during the Cold War. The second concerns the political and military handling of foreign submarine intrusions into Swedish territorial waters from 1980 to the present.
Ambassador Ekeus is also the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a position that he will maintain.
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For further information please contact Walter Kemp, tel. (+31-70) 312 55 06, fax (+31-70) 363 59 10, e-mail wkemp@hcnm.org.
Ambassador Ekeus has a long and distinguished career in the Swedish diplomatic service. During his forty years career he has served his country in Bonn, Nairobi, New York, The Hague and, most recently, was Swedish Ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Ekeus was active in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) during the period of post-Communist transition. He headed the Swedish delegation to the CSCE from 1988 to 1992 and played a key role in drafting the Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990).
Arms control and disarmament have been recurrent themes in Mr. Ekeus' career. He is best known for his work as Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) where he led the weapons inspectors between 1991 and 1997. Previously he was Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva from 1983 to 1988 and Chairman of the CD's negotiations on the Chemical Weapons Convention from 1984 to 1987. He is still an active member of a number of advisory boards in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Recently Ambassador Ekeus has been preparing two reports for the Swedish Government. The first is an analysis and assessment of Sweden's security policy during the Cold War. The second concerns the political and military handling of foreign submarine intrusions into Swedish territorial waters from 1980 to the present.
Ambassador Ekeus is also the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a position that he will maintain.
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For further information please contact Walter Kemp, tel. (+31-70) 312 55 06, fax (+31-70) 363 59 10, e-mail wkemp@hcnm.org.