Oral history interview with Elisabeth Rehn, 2006.

Biographical Note

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, UN under-Secretary-General, special representative of the Secretary General Bosnia and Herzegovina

Scope and Contents

Childhood in Finland; Assisted father, a doctor, with medical work in World War II; Education: School of Economics; Geographic Economics and Political Economy at University level. Career: UNICEF, Vice President of Red Cross of Finland, representative of local Municipal and City Council, Finnish Parliament, Minister of Defense, Attended United Nations (UN) Conferences; UN special rapporteur to Kosovo, Special Representative to Secretary General Bosnia and Herzegovina, co-author of Women, War, Peace (2002), and UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) expert. Memories of World War II, Soviet Union invasion of Finland, Participation in Lotta Svard, Involvement in Finnish politics, Finland and accession to European Union, Finland and the UN, Finlandization, Finland's contribution to international relations, transition from Finish politics to UN, Career as special rapporteur in Kosovo, inter-UN institutional diplomacy, and gender and equality

Subjects

• Cabinet officers--Finland--Interviews.
• Finland--History--20th century.
• Human rights--Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Human rights--Kosovo (Republic)
• Interviews.
• Lotta Svärd (Organization)
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Rehn, Elisabeth, 1935---Interviews.
• United Nations--History.
• United Nations--Officials and employees--Interviews.
• United Nations. Commission on Human Rights. Special Rapporteur.
• United Nations Development Fund for Women.
• Weiss, Thomas G. (Thomas George), 1946- interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Women and peace.
• Women and war.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 2006