Dr. Blix was appointed Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) for Iraq by the UN Secretary-General in January 2000. He took up his duties on 1 March 2000 and left the post at the end of June 2003, with the expiry of his third contract. On his return to Sweden, the Swedish Government has asked him to form and chair an independent international commission on weapons of mass destruction (WMDC). It has held two meetings in 2004 and three in 2005 and will issue a report with recommendations by the end of 2005.
He has written several books on subjects associated with international and constitutional law. He has further written many articles on questions relating to energy and to the problems of spread of nuclear weapons. He was the leader of the Liberal Campaign Committee in connection with the referendum on the Swedish nuclear energy programme in 1980. He published the book, “Disarming Iraq” in March 2004.
Dr. Hans Blix was born in 1928 in Uppsala, Sweden. He studied at the University of Uppsala; Columbia University, where he was also a research graduate; and at Cambridge University, where he received his Ph.D. In 1959, he became Doctor of Laws at the Stockholm University, and, in 1960, was appointed Associate Professor in International Law.
From 1963 to 1976, Dr. Blix served as Adviser on International Law in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1976, he became Under-Secretary of State, in charge of international development cooperation. He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in October 1978.
He served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency for four terms, from 1981 till 1997.
Dr. Blix has several honorary doctorates and is a recipient of a number of decorations and awards. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International and an honorary member of the American Society of International Law.
The Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture 2005, part 1 from Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation on Vimeo.
Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture 2005, part 2 Q&A from Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation on Vimeo.
This lecture exists also in a written published format.
The Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture
is given in memory of Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, and in recognition of the values that inspired him as Secretary-General and generally in his life – compassion, humanism and commitment to international solidarity and cooperation.
The invited speaker should be an outstanding international personality who in significant and innovative ways contributes to a more just, peaceful and environmentally sustainable world through valuable achievements in politics or research.
The Annual Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture is co-organised by Uppsala University and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. The lecture is free and includes a performance by Allmänna sången. The lecture will be filmed and available here on this webpage.
See all Dag Hammarskjöld Lectures over the years