Secretary-General Appoints Elinor Hammarskjöld of Sweden Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Elinor Jane Britt Hammarskjöld of Sweden as Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel.  She succeeds Miguel de Serpa Soares of Portugal, to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his dedicated service and long-standing commitment to the Organization.

The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, who will continue to serve as Acting Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel until Ms. Hammarskjöld assumes her position.

Currently serving as Director-General for Legal Affairs of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Legal Department, Ms. Hammarskjöld has over 30 years of experience in security policy, international law, human rights and treaty law.  She has been a member of the Ministry’s senior management team for over 10 years, serving in various capacities — including as Director-General for Political Affairs, Deputy Director in the Department for European Security Policy, Human Resources Director and Ambassador of Sweden to Israel. She also served at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York.

Ms. Hammarskjöld holds a Master of Laws degree in international law from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and the University of Uppsala in Sweden.  She has completed university courses in peace-and-conflict research at the University of Uppsala, as well as in French and literature at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. Ms. Hammarskjöld is fluent in English and Swedish and speaks French and Spanish.