Can you pinpoint a pivotal point in your career or life that has led you to where you are today?
I don't think there’s any one moment which has led me to the position that I have today. One thing follows the other. A good colleague of mine said, “something will always happen,” and that is very true. Also, in such a lifelong career as mine, you change jobs regularly and always have the possibility to learn new things. That is very motivating for me, drawing on all that I have seen and done over the years, and still being a student at the same time.
Being in diplomacy also implies being prepared for the unexpected. The world is a very complicated place, and you can’t always foresee what’s going to happen next year or even next week – you have to be ready to handle whatever comes. What you can be guided by, are values and principles, and the interests of your country. That aspect is more or less constant, and it’s the ground you will build your solutions on.
I’ve very much enjoyed the task that I’ve been given now as Chair of the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG). So many of my interests coincide in that assignment. SDWG has to do with meeting common challenges through international cooperation in the Circumpolar Arctic, on everything from strengthening mental health to preserving Indigenous languages, to finding renewable energy solutions in remote Arctic communities. The work of the SDWG derives from huge, broad challenges in the interface between the natural environment of the north and the people living there, but it translates into practical solutions through all the concrete projects that the Working Group supports. I find that to be very satisfying work.
What are some skills, traits or values you strive to bring to the workplace?
A basic value in diplomacy is cooperation – being able to cooperate with people from different backgrounds, recognizing that the world doesn’t look the same if you’re in another position, in another person’s shoes, but that you can still find common ground.
I also find that the Arctic Council gives particular value to the viewpoints of Indigenous Peoples, not least in the SDWG. It’s an inspiration for me, and also an aspect of the Arctic that I had not known as well before I took up my position with SDWG. I’ve seen in practice how Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and expertise bring new perspectives and solutions into the challenges that we are facing.
That also brings me to another issue, the broader development towards inclusiveness in international relations which I have witnessed over my career. Diplomacy was quite recently a men-only business, and the business of men of a certain age and narrowly defined social background to boot. There is much more diversity now. Diversity not only in terms of gender, but also in terms of letting young people into international relations, interacting with civil society, and the diplomats themselves coming from different professional backgrounds too.