SECRETARY-GENERAL SADDENED AT DEATH OF SVEN FREDERIKSEN, HEAD

OF EUROPEAN UNION POLICE MISSION TO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is saddened to learn that Mr. Sven Frederiksen, the Head of the European Union Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, died earlier today in Sarajevo.

Mr. Frederiksen was a distinguished officer from the Danish police service, with the rank of Commander of Police, who made a significant contribution to the efforts of the United Nations to bring peace and stability to the Balkans.

His first assignment with the UN was as sector commander with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Croatia in 1992.  He returned to UNPROFOR as Police Commissioner in 1994, and the following year he assisted in the preparation of the Dayton Peace Accords.  In 1999, Mr. Frederiksen was appointed Commissioner of Police in the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and in 2002 he became Commissioner of the United Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Secretary-General would like to convey his condolences to Mr. Frederiksen’s family.

* *** *