Hilde Frafjord Johnson
Encyclopedia
Hilde Frafjord Johnson is a Norwegian
politician
from the Christian Democratic Party. She is a former Minister of International Development of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Government. She has established herself as a prominent member of the International Development community.
She currently serves as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan.
Ms. Johnson previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a position she held from 2007-2011. She has served as Minister and member of the Norwegian government/cabinet in the period 1997-2000 and 2001-2005. She was Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2001.
Throughout her tenure as Minister for International Development, Ms. Johnson was a strong advocate for human rights, poverty eradication, and reform of international aid. She has been actively involved in efforts to build coalitions for change, both of the UN, in the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) and bilateral aid. In 1998, Ms. Johnson initiated the Utstein-group, a group of key likeminded development ministers from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway to spearhead this agenda. She worked closely with the senior leadership of the UN, the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and leaders of developing countries, to bring about better pro-poor development policies. She has also served as Governor and member of the Board of the World Bank for Norway and the Nordic/Baltic Constituency.
As Minister, Hilde F. Johnson played a pivotal role in the peace process in Sudan, leading to the completion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in 2005. She has also engaged extensively in peace building efforts and post crisis-transition processes in relation to a number of countries in Africa, Asia and Central America, notably the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Guatemala and the Great Lakes-region.
Prior to joining UNICEF she served as Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank in charge of Fragile States policies. Ms. Johnson was the co-chair of the Global Coalition for Africa for several years. She was selected a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2001 and has received a number of international awards, including the ‘Commitment to Development Award’ by Foreign Policy and Centre for Global Development (2003). Johnson was also member of the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor led by Madeleine Albright, and has served as a member of the Oxford University Taskforce on UK Energy, Development Assistance and Foreign Policy, led by Sir Chris Patten. Hilde Frafjord Johnson was a leading member of the UNDP hosted Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.
Ms. Hilde Frafjord Johnson, born in Arusha, Tanzania, was awarded a post-graduate degree (cand. polit.) at the University of Oslo in 1991, specializing in development anthropology.
Poor, with co-chairs former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Hernando de
Soto
Development (SID)
development NGO
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from the Christian Democratic Party. She is a former Minister of International Development of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Government. She has established herself as a prominent member of the International Development community.
She currently serves as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan.
Ms. Johnson previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a position she held from 2007-2011. She has served as Minister and member of the Norwegian government/cabinet in the period 1997-2000 and 2001-2005. She was Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2001.
Throughout her tenure as Minister for International Development, Ms. Johnson was a strong advocate for human rights, poverty eradication, and reform of international aid. She has been actively involved in efforts to build coalitions for change, both of the UN, in the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) and bilateral aid. In 1998, Ms. Johnson initiated the Utstein-group, a group of key likeminded development ministers from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway to spearhead this agenda. She worked closely with the senior leadership of the UN, the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and leaders of developing countries, to bring about better pro-poor development policies. She has also served as Governor and member of the Board of the World Bank for Norway and the Nordic/Baltic Constituency.
As Minister, Hilde F. Johnson played a pivotal role in the peace process in Sudan, leading to the completion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in 2005. She has also engaged extensively in peace building efforts and post crisis-transition processes in relation to a number of countries in Africa, Asia and Central America, notably the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Guatemala and the Great Lakes-region.
Prior to joining UNICEF she served as Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank in charge of Fragile States policies. Ms. Johnson was the co-chair of the Global Coalition for Africa for several years. She was selected a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2001 and has received a number of international awards, including the ‘Commitment to Development Award’ by Foreign Policy and Centre for Global Development (2003). Johnson was also member of the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor led by Madeleine Albright, and has served as a member of the Oxford University Taskforce on UK Energy, Development Assistance and Foreign Policy, led by Sir Chris Patten. Hilde Frafjord Johnson was a leading member of the UNDP hosted Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.
Ms. Hilde Frafjord Johnson, born in Arusha, Tanzania, was awarded a post-graduate degree (cand. polit.) at the University of Oslo in 1991, specializing in development anthropology.
Previous positions
- 2007 - 2011: Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF
- 2006 - 2007: Senior Adviser to the President of the African Development Bank, advising the President on strategic management and fragile state-operations, Office of Strategic Management of the Presidency
- 2001 - 2005: Minister of International Development and member of the Norwegian Government
- 1997 - 2000: Minister of International Development and Human Rights and member of the Norwegian Government
- 1993 - 2001: Member of the Norwegian Parliament for the constituency of Rogaland (Christian Democratic Party, a Centrist party in Norwegian politics)
- 1993 - 1997 & 2000 - 2001: As Member of Parliament, Member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment and the Enlarged Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs (2000-01), Norway
- 1992 - 1993: Executive Officer, the UN-Summit on Environment and Development, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- 1989 - 1993: Alternate Member of the Norwegian Parliament (Christian Democrats)
- 1988 - 1991: Political adviser to: Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-90) and chairman and parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Party (1988-89)
- 1987: Journalist for Folkets Framtid, a weekly party-related newspaper
- 1982: Journalist for Stavanger Aftenblad, a major regional newspaper in Norway
Previous International advisory positions
- 2006 - 2007: Member of the Oxford University Taskforce on UK Energy, Development Assistance and Foreign Policy, chaired by Chris Patten, chancellor of Oxford University and former EU Commissioner and Secretary of State for Development
- 2005 - 2008: Member of the International High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the
Poor, with co-chairs former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Hernando de
Soto
- 2003 - 2006: Co-chair of the international High Level Network Global Coalition for Africa (GCA)
- 2001 - 2002: Selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT), a network of selected younger leaders from private and public leadership positions
- 2001: Member of the International Advisory Group of the World Bank on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline and related projects
- 2000: Member of the Senior/External Advisory Panel of the Asian Development Bank during the preparation of the Bank’s Long-term Strategic Framework 2001-2015
Previous Multilateral experience
- 2005: Chair and host of the International Donor’s Conference for Sudan, Oslo, April 2005, a major resource mobilization event. In charge of all preparations. Chair and host of other international donor-conferences, including for East Timor after independence (Oslo, December 2001)
- 2004: Invited Lead speaker on UN Reform at the CEB-Retreat of the UN Secretary General and all the UN-heads of agencies, funds and programs. Particular emphasis on UN-reforms in the development area
- 2002 - 2003: Initiating the UNDP 1 Billion Campaign on the donor’s side to mobilize funds for the UNDP combined with benchmarking delivery on reform
- 2002: Chief negotiator, Ministerial negotiations at the UN Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development September 2002
- 1998 - 2000 & 2001 - 2005: Co-chair IGAD’s Partners Forum and chairman of the Sudan Committee, the donor support group of the peace negotiations for the Sudan
- 1998 - 2000 & 2001 - 2005: Governor and Member of the Board of the World Bank for Norway and the Nordic/Baltic Constituency, and in this context, initiator and member of the “Utstein-group” of like-minded development ministers (UK, Netherlands, Germany and Norway). Responsible for negotiating the G8 Debt relief-initiative at the Annual Meetings in 1999 & 2005
- 1992: Negotiator for Norway on Financial resources in preparation for the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in 1992, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (as Executive Officer in the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Previous Board memberships: public and private
- 2007: Trustee & Member of the Board of Trustees, BBC World Service Trust
- 2006: Member of the Executive Board of Directors for IAVI,the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
- 2004: Co-convener of Women Leaders for WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene), a high level Advocacy-network to focus on a key health and development-issue for women, together with Executive Director Ann M. Veneman of UNICEF and Minister Maria Mutagamba from Uganda
- 2001: Member of the Governing Council of the international Society for International
Development (SID)
- 2000 - 2001: Member of the Board of TVE (Television Trust for the EnvironmentTelevision Trust for the EnvironmentTelevision Trust for the Environment is an independent, international not-for-profit organisation founded 27 years ago by Central Television, UNEP and WWF...
), a London-based TV-production company covering environment and development issues. Regular provider of productions for BBC World - 1996 & 1997: Member of the Board of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), a major humanitarian relief and
development NGO
- 1991 - 1997: Member of the Committee for International Affairs of the Church of Norway
- 1988 - 1992: Member of the Board of MENTOR, an international institute for media, communication and management
- 1986 - 1987: Vice President of the Christian Democratic Youth League
Awards
- 2009: Honorary Doctorate Degree, Norwegian University of Life SciencesNorwegian University of Life SciencesThe Norwegian University of Life Sciences is a public university located in Ås, Norway.It is located at Ås in Akershus, near Oslo, and has around 3800 students...
, in recognition of her contribution towards seeking to reduce world poverty and hunger, Norway - 2006: Honorary Doctorate in Law, at the Ahfad University, KhartoumKhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the... - 2005: Order of the two Niles, First Class by the Government of Sudan for the personal contribution to the peace process in Sudan that resulted in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)
- 2004: Rotary International’s Polio Plus Champion Award in 2004
- 2004: Appointed Commander of the Order of St. Olav, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- 2003: “2003 Commitment to Development Award” by the Center for Global Development (CGD), Washington and “Foreign Policy”, as a member of the original Utstein group
- 2000: Member of the selection-committee of Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award