Swedish government appoints two new members to SEI board

“I am thrilled to welcome our new board members to SEI. Both will add tremendous value to the strategic governance of the institute,” said SEI Executive Director Måns Nilsson.

“We anticipate a growing focus on Eastern Europe and the eastern partnership region, supporting the region’s economies in their ambitions for pathways to climate neutrality and EU accession. With Kersti Kaljulaid on the Board, this will enhance SEI’s role and opportunities. We also aim to further enhance our scientific excellence and our ability to evaluate and learn from our work. These are domains where Professor Mickwitz will add considerable value.”

Kersti Kaljulaid served as the President of Estonia from 2016 to 2021. Before her presidency, she was a Member of the European Court of Auditors, and held various high-level positions in the energy, investment banking, and telecom sectors. In 2021, the UN appointed Kaljulaid as Global Advocate for its Every Woman Every Child strategy. She is also a strong advocate for evidence-based policymaking.

“There’s too much at stake in our world today for us not to be making informed, effective policy decisions. Good policy must be rooted in thorough analysis, reliable data, and a sense of curiosity and honest questioning, said Kaljulaid.

“I’ve witnessed first-hand the exceptional quality of work produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute and am eager to contribute to this. My goal is to bring this knowledge to those with the tools to enact change, helping to transform our world.“

Professor Per Mickwitz works as Pro Vice-Chancellor for research, sustainability and campus development at Lund University. From 2019 to 2020 he worked as Director of the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University.

“I have followed the work of SEI for a long time and been very impressed with the relevance and quality of its work. At the same time as SEI is doing policy relevant work in close collaboration with policymakers and stakeholders, it also produces academic research of a very high quality,” said Mickwitz.

“As a member of the board I hope to learn more about how SEI utilizes its globally distributed organization to produce knowledge that is relevant beyond Europe. I also hope that my knowledge of how a top international university, like Lund University, functions will be valuable for the development of SEI.”

Prior to working at Lund University, Mickwitz worked as Research Director at the Finnish Environment Institute. From 2014 to 2022 he was a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency and between 2018 and 2022 was Chair of the Committee. Between 2014 and 2018 he was Chair of the Finnish Strategic Research Council and between 2019 and 2021 was the Vice Chair of the Board of the Academy of Finland.

Before her presidency, Kaljulaid was a Member of the European Court of Auditors, and held various high-level positions in the energy, investment banking, and telecom sectors. With degrees in genetic engineering and economy, she has served on the Board of the Estonian Genome Centre and as Council Chair of the University of Tartu from 2012 to 2016.