65 years after the assassination of Folke Bernadotte

Folke Bernadotte’s brave efforts to find a solution to one of the most complex conflicts were to cost him his life. It is exactly 65 years ago to the day that he was ambushed and murdered in Jerusalem by Israeli terrorists. The assassination took place one day before he was due to present a plan for a political solution to the Palestinian question to the UN Security Council.

Folke Bernadotte was the first ever UN mediator. Bernadotte’s mediation mission formed the basis for the first UN peace operation, UNTSO (United Nations Supervision Truce Organization). The primary aim of the mission was and is to monitor agreements reached, and act as an intermediary between the parties to avert potential conflicts. Today, UNTSO monitors the truces between Israel, Lebanon and Syria and the peace agreements between Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

Three years prior, during the final years of the Second World War, he led the White Buses mission to rescue thousands of people from Nazi concentration camps in Germany.

Today, the 17 September, the FBA and the Consulate General of Sweden in Jerusalem arrange a ceremony to commemorate Bernadotte and his work to promote human dignity and peace.

FBA releases new research brief on mission leadership

What does research tell us about strategic civil-military leadership in UN integrated missions? The recent FBA research brief "Mission Leaders: An Evidence-based Assessment” presents seven policy recommendations.

2025-07-01 13:34

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The Gender-Responsive Leader's Handbook

Gender equality is both a goal and a prerequisite for sustainable peace and development. FBA’s Gender-Responsive Leadership (GRL) Initiative is designed to support leaders and managers within organizations such as the EU, UN, ECOWAS, OSCE and the African Union to fulfill their central role in enabling gender equal peace, security and development work.

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Teresa Wiklund

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Kajsa Norman

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Statistician in election observation missions

Björn Tedeman

Election observer

THE FBA BLOG

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Posted by Marie Blomdahl
A safe online space to share experiences to support leadership in the UN

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When I joined the Leadership and Cooperation Unit at the Folke Bernadotte Academy in August 2018, after working many years mainly in the private sector, I had a feeling that this job really would offer me an opportunity to use my skills and experiences to make a difference, and at the same time grow as a professional. FBA was at the time already working actively with leadership development support for leaders in key functions within the ... Read entire post »
2021-06-03 10:54
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Posted by Rhodri Williams
Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II

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Part One of this post highlighted the importance of the rule of law in supporting crisis response in countries struggling with the effects of conflict. One of the most important rule of law principles in such settings is accountability, particularly “downward accountability”, in which state authorities focus on serving citizens dependent on them.

Corruption and poor governance can lead to excessive upward accountability directed toward political superiors, leaving a gap between the state and ordinary citizens. Civil ... Read entire post »

The post Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-15 13:43
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Posted by Kristin Valasek
Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership

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Right before the winter break, 236 women and men from 105 different organizations and 46 countries around the world joined our International Dialogue on Gender-Responsive Leadership, to discuss an absolutely critical and often missing part of the gender equality puzzle: gender-responsive leadership.

After twenty years of struggling to achieve the commitments of the global women, peace and security agenda, we at the FBA have learned that executives and managers are essential to success. Not just as supporters, ... Read entire post »

The post Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-10 16:09