Elinor Hammarskjöld appointed United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel

“We are very proud of Elinor Hammarskjöld’s appointment. It is among the highest offices a Swede has held in the UN. This enhances Sweden’s representation in the UN and shows that we have a great deal to offer as regards knowledge of international law. This is good for Sweden. At the same time, we are losing a valued key employee here at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard. 

Ms Hammarskjöld has more than 30 years’ experience working in foreign and security policy, public international law and human rights. She is currently the Director-General for Legal Affairs and Head of the Directorate-General for Legal Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and previously served as Director-General for Political Affairs. 

“I am truly honoured to be entrusted with this role. I look forward to contributing to the UN’s important work on international law,” says Ms Hammarskjöld. 

In earlier posts, Ms Hammarskjöld served as Ambassador of Sweden to Israel, Head of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for International Law, Human Rights and Treaty Law and the Ministry’s Head of Human Resources. She also served at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations at Sweden’s Consulate-General in Jerusalem. 

Ms Hammarskjöld will take office as UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel in the coming weeks.