Secretary-General Appoints Hans Grundberg of Sweden Special Envoy for Yemen

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Hans Grundberg of Sweden as his Special Envoy for Yemen.  Mr. Grundberg succeeds Martin Griffiths (United Kingdom), who has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service.

Serving since 2019 as Ambassador of the European Union to Yemen, Mr. Grundberg brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in international affairs, including over 15 years working in conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation, with a focus on the Middle East.  He previously headed the Gulf Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018, during which time Sweden hosted the United Nations-facilitated negotiations that culminated in the Stockholm Agreement.

A career diplomat, Mr. Grundberg served in both Swedish and European Union missions abroad, with postings in Cairo and Jerusalem, as well as Brussels, where he chaired the European Council’s Middle East/Gulf Working Group during the 2009 Swedish presidency of the European Union.

He holds a Master of Science in business and economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.