Sweden nominated outgoing Ikea boss Jesper Brodin to become the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday, a rare case of a business leader being backed for a top international policy job.
Brodin, who will step down as chief executive of the company next month, joins a field that includes a former Finnish foreign minister, Turkey’s UN ambassador and the ex-migration ministers of Belgium and Switzerland.
“I was happily surprised that the government thought of my name since it’s quite unusual that a business leader is put forward,” Brodin told the Financial Times after learning of the centre-right administration’s nomination. “We need to break the silos in society, whether it’s climate or refugees.”