Jan Eliasson is a well known 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).

He has been, since January 2007, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Darfur.

Jan Eliasson graduated from the Swedish Naval Academy in 1962 and 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 IranIraq 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, humanitarian action and conflict resolution.