1962, graduate, Swedish Naval Academy; 1965, Master's in Economics and Business Administration. 1980-86, part of the UN mediation missions in the war between Iran and Iraq. 1988-92, Ambassador of Sweden to the United Nations, New York and Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Iran/Iraq. 1992, appointed first UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; involved in operations in Africa and the Balkans, taking initiatives on landmines, conflict prevention and humanitarian action. 1993-94, mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 1994-2000, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. 2000-05, Ambassador of Sweden to Washington. 2005-06, President, UN General Assembly. 2006, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. 2007-08, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Darfur. March 2012, appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the UN.