Hans Blix is a prominent figure in diplomacy and the United Nations, whose career has spanned Swedish foreign policy and multilateral peace and security affairs. He served as minister for foreign affairs of Sweden and headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for four terms.
In 2000, he emerged from his initial public-service retirement to serve for three years as chief inspector of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), a Security Council mandate through which he became known to the wider public as the commission conducted its independent work to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. […]
I talked with Blix recently while in Scandinavia about his reflections on conflict, law and public service, including the selection of the next UN secretary-general and his wishes for whoever takes on the role, among them the ability to “sleep well” and to have a “sense of humor.”
Here is our conversation, which has been edited for clarity and length. — Gabriel Elkeiy Läs intervjun