Per Knutsson joined the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in 2020 as Director, UN Reform, and later served as Executive Director a.i. He currently serves as Senior Adviser. Over more than 30 years, he has worked in international development cooperation, multilateral affairs and public policy, holding senior management positions in policy, programmes and coordination at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. He has lived and worked in Africa for more than 16 years, with postings covering Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Africa.
At the Foundation, Per has led work on effective multilateralism, UN financing and UN leadership, including extensive policy dialogues at country, regional and global levels. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kenya from 2014 to 2020, where he led strategic planning and coordination for the UN Country Team. His work included the development of the UN Kenya Cooperation Framework 2018–2022, the Cross-Border Programme between Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, the SDG Partnerships and Financing Platform, and area-based integrated planning in Turkana.
Before joining the United Nations, Per was Head of Multilateral Coordination at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, with lead responsibility for cooperation with the United Nations, the multilateral development banks and the European Union. His work included engagement on Delivering as One, the post-2015 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. He also served as Counsellor for Regional Affairs and Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the Swedish Embassy in Addis Ababa, where he worked closely with the African Union and UNECA on institutional reform and regional cooperation. Earlier, he held several senior leadership positions at Sida, including responsibility for democratic governance and human rights, gender equality, social development, culture and media.
