Annan mourns former senior UN peacekeeper who helped the Balkans

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan mourned the death earlier today of Sven Frederiksen, head of the European Union's police mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. Frederiksen "made a significant contribution to the efforts of the UN to bring peace and stability to the Balkans," a spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement, which also conveyed condolences to Mr. Frederiksen's family.

A Danish national, Mr. Frederiksen first served with the UN as sector commander of the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Croatia in 1992. He returned to UNPROFOR in 1994 as Police Commissioner before helping prepare the Dayton Peace Accords for the former Yugoslavia.

Mr. Frederiksen, who had been a distinguished officer with the Danish police service, became Police Commissioner for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 1999 before becoming Commissioner of the UN International Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002.