22 Facts About Hans Blix

1.

Hans Martin Blix is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party.

2.

Hans Blix was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs and later became the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

3.

Hans Blix was the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos.

4.

In February 2010, Hans Blix became head of the United Arab Emirates' advisory board for its nuclear power program.

5.

Hans Blix is the former president of the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

6.

Hans Blix is the son of professor Gunnar Blix and Hertha Wiberg, and grandson of professor Magnus Blix.

7.

Hans Blix studied at Uppsala University and Columbia University, earning his PhD from the University of Cambridge.

8.

Hans Blix has two sons, Marten and Goran, who both have doctoral degrees.

9.

Between 1962 and 1978 Hans Blix was a member of the Swedish delegation at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva.

10.

Hans Blix held several other positions in the Swedish administration between 1963 and 1976, and from 1961 to 1981, he served on the Swedish delegation to the United Nations.

11.

From 1978 to 1979, Hans Blix was the Swedish Foreign Minister.

12.

Hans Blix chaired the Swedish Liberal Party's campaign during the 1980 referendum on nuclear power, campaigning in favour of retention of the Swedish nuclear energy program.

13.

Hans Blix became Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency between 1981 and 1997 after Sigvard Eklund.

14.

Hans Blix personally made repeated inspection visits to the Iraqi nuclear reactor Osiraq before its attempted destruction by the Iranians, in 1980, and its eventual destruction by the Israeli Air Force in 1981 during Operation Opera.

15.

Hans Blix personally admonished Saddam for "cat and mouse" games and warned Iraq of "serious consequences" if it attempted to hinder or delay his mission.

16.

In 2004, Hans Blix published a book, Disarming Iraq, where he gives his account of the events and inspections before the coalition began its invasion.

17.

Senior US officials ordered the US Central Intelligence Agency to investigate Hans Blix to gather "sufficient ammunition to undermine" him so that the US could start the invasion of Iraq.

18.

Hans Blix said he suspected his home and office were bugged by the United States, while he led teams searching for Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction.

19.

Since 2003 Hans Blix has been chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, an independent body funded by the Swedish government and based in Stockholm.

20.

In 2006 Hans Blix was elected president of the World Federation of United Nations Associations at its 38th Plenary Assembly.

21.

In 2009 Hans Blix joined the project Soldiers of Peace, an anti-war film.

22.

Hans Blix leads the nine-person board, which meets twice a year.