Jan Eliasson is regarded as one of Sweden's most accomplished diplomats. He became Foreign Minister of Sweden on April 24, 2006, and is concurrently serving as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. He was Ambassador of Sweden to the United States from 2000 to 2005 and Sweden's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999. He became the first Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of the UN in 1992 and was Ambassador of Sweden to the UN from 1988 to 1992, as well as a key player in UN negotiations during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.Eliasson's five years in Washington, DC, from September 2000 to June 2005, were marked by several historic events and critical developments in foreign and domestic affairs, from the contentious Presidential election of 2000, to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the outbreak of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the consequent strain in relations between the United States and Europe, and the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004.During Eliasson's last two years in Washington, he provided author and diplomatic correspondent John Shaw with substantial access to his life and his work, including daily routines, policy meetings, think tank seminars, cultural events, high-level receptions and interactions with the White House, the U.S. State Department, the Washington press corps and other senior diplomats.The resulting book, entitled The Ambassador: Inside the Life of a Working Diplomat, was published by Capital Books in 2006 with a foreword by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It offers a provocative portrait of an international statesman and a fascinating look at the inner workings of modern-day diplomacy.The book is available at www.amazon.com and at other major bookstores and retail outlets.Photo: Jan Eliasson, © Pawel Flato