Hilde F. Johnson

With over 20 years of senior leadership experience in international development, Ms. Johnson is currently a senior advisor at the European Institute for Peace (EIP) in Brussels and a visiting researcher at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO).

She has held several roles in Norwegian politics, most recently as Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Party from 2016-2019. As Minister for International Development of Norway from 1997-2005, she was instrumental in establishing the Utstein Group of female development ministers, which was recognized for its dedication, vision, and leadership in reducing global poverty and inequality in developing countries. She also played a key role in the Sudan peace negotiations that led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

Ms. Johnson was later appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary General to South Sudan and head of the United Nations mission (UNMISS) in the country, where she oversaw multiple UN agencies’ peacebuilding efforts. Prior to that, she served in leadership positions as Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, where she was in charge of global partnerships, including on child survival and sexual violence in conflict; and before that, senior advisor to the president of the African Development Bank. 

Ms. Johnson has also applied her extensive experience as a development anthropologist and fragile states specialist to advance research and policy initiatives at think tanks, including as senior visiting fellow at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs. She has authored three books on Sudan, South Sudan and peace building. 

Ms. Johnson holds a graduate degree in anthropology from the University of Oslo.