[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1101-E1102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO JAN ELIASSON, SWEDEN'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES AND 
              THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2005

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
extraordinary diplomat, a remarkable representative of his native 
Sweden, a friend and admirer of the United States, and a man whom 
Annette and I count as a dear, dear friend--Jan Eliasson, the 
Ambassador of Sweden to the United States. Jan is now leaving his 
position here in Washington, D.C., and shortly he will assume the 
critical role of President of the United Nations General Assembly, the 
first Swede to serve in this post.
  In a biographical article, an American magazine reported that Jan 
Eliasson is referred to by his friends and family as ``James Bond'' 
``because of his charm, elegance, and rugged good looks.'' The same 
article described Jan as ``brilliant, serious and dedicated to 
strengthening the role of the United Nations, as well as improving the 
lot of man.'' Mr. Speaker, I know Jan Eliasson, and I believe that 
these descriptions suit his persona and his character to perfection.
  Another facet of Jan that I particularly admire and respect has been 
his commitment to the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg. At the request and 
with the support of the United States Government, Wallenberg was 
assigned to the Swedish Legation in Budapest at the height of Nazi 
deportations of Hungarian Jews to death camps. Through creativity, 
tenacity and grit, Wallenberg saved the lives of tens of thousands of 
Hungarian Jews, including my wife Annette and myself. After the 
liberation of Budapest, Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviet military, 
and he was never seen outside the Soviet gulag since then. Sweden did 
not press the Soviets for his release, and many Swedish diplomats saw 
him as an example of what a diplomat should not do. Jan Eliasson 
disagreed strongly with that view. He has been one of the strongest and 
most effective advocates of Raoul Wallenberg, and he has been a leader 
in Sweden in honoring Wallenberg's humanitarian heritage.
  Mr. Speaker, the position of President of the UN General Assembly is 
critically important, and Jan Eliasson comes to it at a critical time 
in the history of the United Nations. But he also brings an exceptional 
background that makes him uniquely qualified to lead the General 
Assembly at this time.
   As Jan takes the helm at the General Assembly, the United Nations 
faces demands for reform. The Secretary General has already made 
positive and far-reaching proposals, and the Congress is preparing to 
consider legislation on that same issue in the next few weeks. The 
President of the General Assembly will also chair a summit this fall to 
review the Millennium Development Goals on sustainable and equitable 
global development.
  Jan served as Sweden's Ambassador to the United Nations from 1988 to 
1992, and at that same time he served as the Secretary General's 
personal representative on Iran/Iraq. In 1992 he was appointed the 
first Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, and in that 
post he was involved in UN operations in Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique and 
the Balkans. Few Presidents of the General Assembly come to that 
position with the broad experience as well as the intellectual and 
emotional commitment to the United Nations that Jan brings.
  During his five years as Sweden's ambassador to the United States, he 
has contributed to strengthening our bilateral relations in a critical 
time as we here faced the shock and tragedy of September 11th and 
engaged in the fight against terrorism. For six years prior to his 
assignment in Washington, Jan was Deputy Secretary of State in the 
Swedish Foreign Ministry, a key position in the formulation and 
implementation of Swedish foreign policy.
  Mr. Speaker, while I am enthusiastic about Jan Eliasson's new 
opportunity, we also bid him farewell with serious reservations. He has 
been a truly outstanding representative of Sweden in the United States. 
He has brought a genuine love of America as well as a deep 
understanding and sympathy of our country as well. Jan was an exchange 
student and graduated from high school in Indiana. He has spent well 
over a decade as a Swedish diplomat living in New York City and 
Washington, D.C.
  My wife, Annette, and I will sorely miss Jan and his wife Kerstin. We 
wish them well in their very important new assignment in New York, and 
we look forward to seeing them in New York and again in the Nation's 
Capital.
    

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