The 16 September, 2024, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and Uppsala University were honoured to present Jan Egeland as the 2024 Dag Hammarskjöld Lecturer and medallist. The lecture took place in the Uppsala University Main Aula.
About the Lecturer
Jan Egeland is the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council since 2013, overseeing humanitarian response in 40 countries affected by both new and protracted crises. He also held the role of Eminent Person for The Grand Bargain Initiative, advocating for its commitments to better serve people in need from June 2021 to June 2023.
In 2021, Jan Egeland was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as chair of the Independent Senior Advisory Panel on Humanitarian Deconfliction in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Jan Egeland’s extensive career in international affairs includes serving as Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, European Director at Human Rights Watch, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
He played a crucial role in reforming the global humanitarian response system and organising response to crises such as the Asian tsunami and conflicts in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lebanon.
In 2010, Jan Egeland published ‘A billion lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontline of Humanity’, providing insight into his broad experiences in the field of international humanitarian field.
The 2024 Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture was held together with the 2023 Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.