Tom Vraalsen

Tom Vraalsen
Tom Vraalsen
Norwegian Ambassador to the United States
	In office; 2 October 1996 – 17 April 2001
Prime Minister	Gro Harlem Brundtland ; Thorbjørn Jagland ; Kjell Magne Bondevik ; Jens Stoltenberg
Preceded by	Kjeld Vibe
Succeeded by	Knut Vollebæk
Norwegian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
	In office; 18 February 1994 – 1 October 1996
Prime Minister	Gro Harlem Brundtland
Preceded by	Kjell Eliassen
Succeeded by	Kjell Colding
Norwegian Permanent Representative to the United Nations
	In office; 12 March 1982 – 16 October 1989
Prime Minister	Kåre Willoch ; Gro Harlem Brundtland
Preceded by	Ole Ålgård
Succeeded by	Thorvald Stoltenberg
Minister of International Development
	In office; 16 October 1989 – 3 November 1990
Prime Minister	Jan P. Syse
Preceded by	Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl
Succeeded by	Grete Faremo
Minister of Nordic Cooperation
	In office; 16 October 1989 – 3 November 1990
Prime Minister	Jan P. Syse
Preceded by	Bjarne Mørk-Eidem
Succeeded by	Kjell Borgen
Personal details
Born	Tom Eric Vraalsen; 26 January 1936; Oslo, Norway
Died	13 September 2021 (aged 85)
Political party	Centre
Spouse	Vibecke Vraalsen
Children	5

Tom Eric Vraalsen (26 January 1936 – 13 September 2021) was a Norwegian ambassador and politician for the Centre Party. He served as the Norwegian Minister of International Development from 1989 to 1990, as well as Minister of Nordic Cooperation.

He received a master's degree in economics from the University of Århus, Denmark, before joining the Norwegian Foreign Service in 1960. He was the Norwegian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1994 to 1996, to the United States of America from 1996 to 2001 and to Finland from 2001 to 2003.^[1] He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Augustana College Commencement in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on 21 May 2000.^[2]

Vraalsen was also the Permanent Representative & Ambassador of Norway to the United Nations from 1982 to 1989. From 1998 to 2004, he held the position of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian affairs for the Sudan. He is the author of numerous papers an articles on African socio-economic development issues and on conflict prevention and resolution, including two books on the UN, The UN - Dream and Reality (1984) and UN in Focus (1975), which he co-authored.

He was also chairman of Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research under the Norwegian Chairmanship 2009-2010.^[3]

He was married and has five children.

References

^ "Vraalsen, Tom Eric ( 1936- )" (in Norwegian). Stortinget.no. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
^ Honorary degree to Ambassador Vraalsen
^ 'Norwegian Chairmanship of the Holocaust Task Force', www.blog.norway.com "Norwegian Chairmanship of the Holocaust Task Force « Norway.com". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2009.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Ole Ålgård	Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations 1981–1989	Succeeded by Thorvald Stoltenberg
Preceded by Kjell Eliassen	Norwegian Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1994–1996	Succeeded by Kjell Colding
Preceded by Kjeld Vibe	Norwegian Ambassador to the United States 1996–2001	Succeeded by Knut Vollebæk