(Stockholm, 17 March 2022) The Swedish Government today appointed Stefan Löfven as the new Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board. Löfven will formally take up his position on 1 June 2022. He succeeds Ambassador Jan Eliasson in this position.
Read this press release in Swedish (PDF).
Watch a brief video interview with Stefan Löfven as part of SIPRI's Spotlight series, where he speaks on worrying global trends and the role SIPRI can play to address these challenges [4:08].
Stefan Löfven was the Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 2021.
‘I am looking forward to taking on the task and challenge as Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board. Not least in these worrying times, it is obvious that our role is even more important,’ comments Stefan Löfven. ‘We need good information and clear-headed analysis more than ever, and that is what SIPRI provides.’
Löfven’s background includes extensive experience from various domestic and international assignments. He was recently appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to co-lead a High-level Advisory Board in preparation for the 2023 Summit of the Future. He was previously the International Secretary of the Swedish trade union IF Metall and, subsequently, its Chair (2006–2012). He was also a board member of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (2006–2012), a board member of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (2010–2012), Deputy Chair of the Swedish Trade Council (2004–2012) and a board member of the Olof Palme International Centre (2002–2006).
Welcoming the appointment, SIPRI Director Dan Smith says, ‘I very much look forward to working with Stefan Löfven. It reflects our high standing that Stefan Löfven is becoming our new Chair of the board.’
‘I am proud and delighted to be passing the SIPRI torch to such a qualified and well-respected leader as Stefan Löfven,’ comments Ambassador Jan Eliasson, who will conclude his five-year term as Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board at the end of May and continue to contribute to SIPRI’s work as a Distinguished Associate Fellow.
For editors
According to the SIPRI statutes, the Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board is appointed by the Swedish Government, based on a nomination from the SIPRI Governing Board, the SIPRI Research Staff Collegium and the SIPRI staff unions. The Chair can serve for no more than two consecutive five-year terms.
In addition to Jan Eliasson, Löfven’s predecessors as SIPRI Chair have been Sven-Olof Petersson, Göran Lennmarker, Rolf Ekéus, Daniel Tarchys, Inga Thorsson, Ernst Michanek, Rolf Björnerstedt, Karin Söder, Hans Blix, Rolf Edberg, Gunnar Myrdal and Alva Myrdal.
The current members of the SIPRI Governing Board are:
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Ghana)
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee (Singapore)
Jean-Marie Guéhenno (France)
Dr Radha Kumar (India)
Dr Patricia Lewis (Ireland/United Kingdom)
Dr Jessica Tuchman Mathews (United States)
Dr Feodor Voitolovsky (Russia)
More information on SIPRI’s Governing Board members can be found here, and on SIPRI’s organizational structure here.
Media contact
For further information, please contact Alexandra Manolache, Communications Officer (alexandra.manolache@sipri.org, +46 76 628 61 33).