Terje Rød-Larsen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Terje Rød-Larsen
Nils Totland
Succeeded byBendik Rugaas
Personal details
Born (1947-11-22) 22 November 1947 (age 76)
Labour
SpouseMona Juul

Terje Rød-Larsen (born 22 November 1947) is a

sociologist
.

Rød-Larsen came to wide international prominence as a key figure in the 1990s negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords—the first-ever agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) -- when he served as the Director of the Fafo institute.[1][2][3][4] He is played by the actor Andrew Scott in the film Oslo, based on the play of the same name.

In 1993, Rød-Larsen was appointed Ambassador and Special Adviser for the Middle East Peace process to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, and the following year, he became the United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories at the rank of Under-Secretary-General.

Rød-Larsen briefly served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Planning and Cooperation of Norway in the Jagland cabinet in 1996. He had to resign after a tax affair regarding him came to public attention.[5]

Rød-Larsen then returned to the United Nations, where he again became an Under-Secretary-General, serving as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority from 1999 to 2004.

From 2004 to 2020,[6] Rød-Larsen has been the president of the International Peace Institute (IPI), based in New York City, adjacent to the United Nations, which the IPI works with extensively. He resigned in 2020 over previously undisclosed links to Jeffrey Epstein.[7]

Biography

Rød-Larsen grew up in

Bergen and studied social sciences, culminating in a Ph.D. in sociology. He taught at Norwegian universities until 1981, when he helped found FAFO, a research organization funded by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
.

Early Middle East work

In 1989 Rød-Larsen moved to

PLO
.

Oslo Accords

When serving as the Director of the

The 2016-2017 Broadway play, Oslo, by noted playwright J. T. Rogers, is a widely-praised dramatization of the previously unheralded secret work of Rød-Larsen and his wife, and others, in developing the back-channel communications that (reportedly) saved the Oslo negotiations from collapsing.[1][2][3][4]

The same year Rød-Larsen became formally employed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a special advisor on Middle Eastern affairs.

Mid-1990s to Mid-2000s

From 1994 to 1996, Rød-Larsen served as former

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
's first "Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories."

In 1996, Rød-Larsen served briefly as minister of administration in the government of Thorbjørn Jagland, before being forced to resign as the result of a tax scandal.

In 9/9/1999, Rød-Larsen was appointed as

Resolution 1559, which calls for Syrian withdrawal of Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah
.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

16 August

Rød-Larsen was sent by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Lebanon and Israel to follow up on the implementation of the cease-fire resolution, the United Nations announced on 16 August 2006.[9]

20 August

On this date Rød-Larsen told reporters. "There is a golden opportunity for Lebanon to solidify its democracy, to assert it authority, to produce a situation where Lebanon can be reconstructed and where Lebanese can live peacefully with its neighbors in prosperity. All this is at hand."[10]

22 August

[11]

The United Nations special envoy to Syria and Lebanon said on 22 August 2006 it could take the Lebanese army and international troops two to three months to fill a "security vacuum" in southern Lebanon and warned that "unintended" acts could spark renewed fighting.

"There is now a security vacuum which the Lebanese government is trying to fill" with the help of international forces, said Terje Rød-Larsen. "But I think realistically, up to a point, you will have such a vacuum in Lebanon for the next two, three months," he added. "The situation is still extremely fragile... Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control."[11]

Controversy

In 2020 media revealed that he Rød-Larsen had borrowed 130,000 USD from Jeffrey Epstein.[12] During the week that preceded 18 October 2020, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry requested that Rød-Larsen clarify the ties between Epstein and Rød-Larsen.[13] On 21 October Dagens Næringsliv said that [sometime] after [the money was borrowed], Rød-Larsen directed IPI to pay 100,000 dollars to Epstein,[14] although an audit by accounting firm KPMG found no payment was made.[15] On 29 October 2020, Rød-Larsen resigned the presidency of the foundation (IPI).[6][16]

References

  1. ^
    New York Times
    retrieved May 6, 2017
  2. ^ a b c Jones, Chris, "'Argo' and the new play 'Oslo' are stories about heroes nobody knows," April 21, 2017, Chicago Tribune retrieved May 6, 2017
  3. ^
    Public Broadcasting System
    (PBS), retrieved May 6, 2017
  4. ^
    New York Times
    retrieved May 6, 2017
  5. ^ Lars Nehru Sand. https://www.nrk.no/ytring/den-misforstattes-kampskrift-1.15219328
  6. ^ a b "Terje Rød-Larsen trekker seg som president for International Peace Institute". 30 October 2020.
  7. ^ Richard Roth (31 October 2020). "Epstein donations force resignation at international peace organization". CNN. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  8. ^ "Secretary-General appoints Terje Rød-Larsen of Norway as United Nations Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process" (Press release). United Nations. 21 September 1999. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "Lebanese troops deploy as part of U.N. cease-fire". CNN. 17 August 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006.
  10. ^ "U.N. envoy: Lebanon facing critical test". CNN. 20 August 2006.
  11. ^ a b "Italy to send up to 3,000 troops to Lebanon, largest pledge so far". Haaretz. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
  12. ^ [ Dagens Næringsliv: Terje Rød-Larsen owed Jeffrey Epstein 130,000 dollars] Dagens Næringsliv: Terje Rød-Larsen skyldte Jeffrey Epstein 130.000 dollar. 14 October 2020
  13. ^ "I forrige uke ba Utenriksdepartementet Rød-Larsen om mer klarhet rundt forbindelsene mellom de to."
  14. ^ "Onsdag skrev DN at Rød-Larsen på et tidspunkt skyldte Epstein 130.000 dollar, og at han senere ga grønt lys for en utbetaling av 100.000 dollar fra tankesmia til Epstein."
  15. ^ "Release of KPMG Forensic Review and IPI Probity Review". 22 December 2020.
  16. ^ Richard Roth (31 October 2020). "Epstein donations force resignation at international peace organization". CNN. Retrieved 31 October 2020.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
1 October 1999 – 31 May 2005
Succeeded by