Soren Jessen-Petersen

UNMIK Chief

(The Council of the European Union Web site)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan named Soren Jessen-Petersen as his new special representative and head of UNMIK on 16 June 2004. He succeeds Harri Holkeri, who resigned citing health reasons.

Jessen-Petersen, a Dane, served as assistant high commissioner at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva from January 1998 to December 2001. He headed all UNHCR operations, directly supervising UNHCR global bureaus and undertaking over 80 missions to numerous field offices.

From 1994 to 1998, he served as director of the UNHCR Liaison Office at the UN headquarters in New York. He represented the high commissioner as a member of various committees and meetings at the UN.

From December 1995 to September 1996, Jessen-Petersen served as the high commissioner's special envoy to the former Yugoslavia. He was based in Sarajevo and was responsible for developing the strategy for and overseeing the implementation of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement. He also directed a $350m humanitarian operation for approximately 4 million refugees, displaced persons, returnees and other victims.

Between 1990 and 1993, Jessen-Petersen was the cabinet chief of the high commissioner at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. From 1992 to 1994, he was director of external relations and was in charge of UNHCR's external contacts with governments and other organisations.

In 1989, on secondment from UNHCR, he served as special adviser to the undersecretary general for political affairs, and as a member of the UN Secretary General's task force on the process leading to the independence of Namibia.

In 1986, he opened the UNHCR regional office for Nordic countries. Based in Stockholm, he served as the high commissioner's regional representative until 1989, covering Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Jessen-Petersen is a lawyer and journalist by training, and has numerous publications. He is married and has four children.