Law degree, University of Oslo. Chairman of the Consultative Committee for the Norwegian Volunteer Service of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) (1989–1991). Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Young Conservatives in Norway (1990–1992). Special adviser to the President, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva (1998–2001). Currently Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway. Prior to that State Secretary at Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Publications include: Kosovo og folkeretten (Kosovo and International Law, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, 1999), Til krig for menneskerettighetene (Waging War for Human Rights, Institute of Public and International Law, University of Oslo, 1999).