Press release 24 August 2012

The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala enters a new phase with a focus on UN issues and more dialogue and collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Its work will continue to be characterized by the work and spirit of Dag Hammarskjöld.

- I am glad that we will have an Executive Director as competent and experienced as Annika Söder, and with a large international network, says Göran Bexell, chairperson of the board and former vice-chancellor of Lund University.

The Foundation can now expand, will get a larger budget and recruit more staff members.

- There is a strong commitment to implement the legacy of Dag Hammarskjöld. I hope that we can increase our collaboration with other organisations and strengthen contacts with the UN, says Göran Bexell.

Annika Söder comes from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) and has inter alia been Under-Secretary-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, FAO, and State Secretary for development cooperation and Head of the Press Office at the MFA. She will assume office on September 17.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation’s role as a meeting place and catalyst will be developed, says Annika Söder. Our programme focus will be on development, security and the role of civil society. Together with the staff, the board and collaboration partners, I hope to be able to offer a place for exceptional meetings between different actors in the global and multilateral arena, and through this contribute to the development of policies in our focus areas.

The current Executive Director Henning Melber assumes a position as Senior Adviser.

Download press release in Swedish (pdf).