Norwegian Social Democrat Thorbjørn Jagland was elected the 13th Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Sept. 29.
Thorbjørn Jagland was born in 1950. He graduated from Oslo University of Economics.
Throughout his political career Jagland actively participated in international politics, and held several senior positions in Norway and internationally. As a member of parliament for the last 15 years, Jagland over the past four years served as president of the Storting (Norwegian parliament). He also served as Prime Minister (1996-97) and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway (2000-2001). In March this year he was elected chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which annually awards the Nobel Peace Prize.