Education
University of Oslo.
University of Oslo.
She most recently served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan, completing her term in July 2014
Born in Arusha, Tanzania to parents who worked for the Norwegian Missionary Society, she came to Norway at the age of 7. She was awarded a Candidate political degree at the University of Oslo in 1991, specializing in development anthropology. She served as Minister of International Development in Bondevik"s First Cabinet from October 1997 to March 2000 and held the same position in Bondevik"s Second Cabinet from October 2001 to October 2005.
She has engaged in peace building efforts and post crisis-transition processes in relation to a number of countries in Africa, Asia and Central America, notably the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Guatemala and the Great Lakes-region.
She has been involved in efforts to build coalitions for change, both of the United Nations, in the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) and bilateral aid. In 1998, Johnson initiated the Utstein-group, a group of key likeminded development ministers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway to spearhead this agenda.
She worked closely with the senior leadership of the United Nations, the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (World Trade Organization) and leaders of developing countries, to bring about better pro-poor development policies. Prior to joining United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund she served as Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank in charge of Fragile States policies.
Johnson was the co-chair of the Global Coalition for Africa for several years.
She was selected a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2001. Johnson served as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)from 2007-2011.
As minister, Hilde F. Johnson played a pivotal role in the peace process in Sudan, leading to the completion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement in 2005.
She is a former Minister of International Development of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Government. Becoming a member of the Young Christian Democrats at age 16, she was elected to the Parliament of Norway for the Christian Democratic Party from Rogaland in 1993 and re-elected in 1997. She served as a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment.
She has served as Governor and member of the Board of the World Bank for Norway and the Nordic/Baltic Constituency.
She was member of the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor led by Madeleine Albright, and has served as a member of the Oxford University Taskforce on United Kingdom Energy, Development Assistance and Foreign Policy, led by Sir Chris Patten. Johnson was a member of the United Nations Development Programme hosted Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.
