On Tuesday, October 14, the Swedish government proposed the candidacy of Jesper Brodin, outgoing CEO of the holding company that oversees most Ikea stores, to head the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). UNHCR faces an immense crisis: refugee movements around the world have almost doubled in the last decade, while funding for international aid is declining sharply, particularly with Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year.
UNHCR’s current director, Filippo Grandi, announced that the agency had been forced to cut more than a quarter of its staff since the beginning of the year, or nearly 5,000 positions. The Swedish government nominates Jesper Brodin for the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees “because it is convinced that future humanitarian efforts require new forms of leadership, in which collaboration between development cooperation and business plays a key role,” according to its statement.
Business experience
“The United Nations system would be strengthened by someone with business experience, especially given the major challenges currently facing the United Nations,” Benjamin Dousa, Minister of International Development Cooperation, said in the statement.
Jesper Brodin collaborated with the UN agency to create employment programs for refugees, the government stresses. CEO of the Ingka Group, the holding company that has controlled the majority of Ikea stores since 2017, will soon hand over the reins.
The deputy director general, the Spanish Juvencio Maeztu, will take over on November 5 and Brodin is expected to remain with the company until February 2026. The new director of UNHCR is due to be appointed before the end of the year. The UN does not reveal the names of the candidates, who had until October 6 to present their candidacy. According to information from Sunday’s TribuneAnne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, would also be a candidate.
Source: BFM TV
