Understanding Our New World with Jan Eliasson

Jan Eliasson, a former Swedish and United Nations diplomat, will join the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University on Tuesday, November 12 at 10 am CT for a virtual discussion about the complex challenges and important opportunities facing global leaders.

Eliasson with join Institute director John Shaw for a discussion that will center on how skilled diplomacy can help tackle vexing problems such as climate change, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, UN reform, and the global refugee crisis. He will also discuss the international implications of the incoming Trump administration with its “America First” orientation.

The discussion via Zoom is part of the Institute’s “Understanding Our New World” series.

Eliasson is the subject of Shaw’s recently published book, The Education of a Statesman: How Global Leaders Can Repair a Fractured World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024).

Eliasson served as Sweden’s ambassador to the United Nations, ambassador to the United States, and foreign minister. He also held high level UN posts including president of the General Assembly, special envoy to Darfur, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, and deputy secretary-general.