Jan Egeland has been Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) since August 2013, leading humanitarian operations with some 14,000 relief workers, serving 9 million people in need across the world.

From 2015 to the end of 2018 he was Special Advisor to the UN mediation efforts in Syria, and chaired the 23-nation humanitarian task force for the protection of and access to Syrian civilians.
Egeland served as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2003-2006 where he spearheaded reform of the global humanitarian system.

He has been Europe Director of Human Rights Watch (2011−2013), Executive Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (2007−2011) and served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser to Colombia (1999−2001). From 1990 to 1997, he was State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he co-organized and co-initiated the Norwegian Channel that led to the Oslo Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (1993), as well as peace agreements in Guatemala (1996) and elsewhere.

He has received several international awards. In 2006, Time Magazine named Egeland as one of the ‘100 people who shape our world’.
Jan Egeland presents a TEDx talk on the politicization of aid, giving insights from his 42 years working in the humanitarian section.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Jan Egeland has been Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) since August 2013, leading humanitarian operations with some 14,000 relief workers, serving 9 million people in need across the world.

From 2015 to the end of 2018 he was Special Advisor to the UN mediation efforts in Syria, and chaired the 23-nation humanitarian task force for the protection of and access to Syrian civilians.
Egeland served as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2003-2006 where he spearheaded reform of the global humanitarian system. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx