Søren Jessen-Petersen

Søren Jessen-Petersen (born 1945) is a Danish lawyer and civil servant. He was named Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Kosovo and head of UNMIK on 16 July 2004. He held the position until the end of June 2006.

Jessen-Petersen is currently an adjunct professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he teaches a course titled, "Economic Migrants, Refugees, and Human Security." He is also a Guest Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

A lawyer and journalist by training, Jessen-Petersen began his service in the United Nations (UN) in 1972 with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Africa. He then held senior positions at UNHCR before opening the UNHCR regional office in Stockholm in 1986. In 1989, he served as Special Adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and as a member of the Secretary-General's Task Force on Namibian independence. His most recent UN assignment was that of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo and head of UNMIK (August 2004 to July 2006) at the level of UN Under Secretary-General.

Jessen-Petersen worked for the diplomatic advisory group Independent Diplomat, founded by Carne Ross, and is the former Director of its Washington office.

He currently resides in Copenhagen, Denmark.