It is with deep regret that I announce the death of our friend and respected colleague Mr. Karl Eric Knutsson, on 31 October 2002 in Sweden.

A national of Sweden, Karl Eric joined UNICEF in August 1980 as Regional Director in Nairobi, Kenya. In August 1983, Karl Eric was appointed to the post of Deputy Executive Director (Operations) in New York, at the level of Assistant Secretary General and served with distinction in that post until 1988. In a move most unusual at that level in the United Nations, but characteristic of his dedication to development work in the field, Karl Eric assumed the position of Regional Director in New Delhi, India in June 1988 and in 1991 transferred to Kathmandu, Nepal where the new Regional Office for South Asia was established. In March 1994 Karl Eric was appointed as Senior Fellow in the International Child Development Centre in Florence, Italy and held this position until his retirement in September 1995.

Prior to joining UNICEF, Karl Eric had assisted his government in Sweden in formulating its co-operation with developing countries in agriculture, nutrition and other fields. He was Director of the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute and had membership in numerous executive boards and consultative groups, including the Protein Advisory Group, the Executive Board of the International Livestock Center for Africa, the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and the Executive Council of the United Nations University. As the Founding Director of the Swedish Agency for Research Co-operation with Developing Countries (SAREC), he became one of the world's leaders in the emerging field of development studies.

Karl Eric will be remembered by his friends and colleagues for his personal warmth and approachability as well as for his compassion, commitment, wisdom and experience, including a distinguished professional career launched with not one but two doctoral degrees, the first in comparative religion and the second in anthropology. He came to UNICEF with a commitment to use his skills and knowledge to benefit women and children in need and was certainly successful in this regard.

Karl Eric is survived by his wife Pauline, and his two sons and two daughters, Jon, Per, Anneka and Karin.

Colleagues and friends wishing to express their condolences to Karl Eric's family may do so in writing at the following address:

Pauline Knutsson
Stjernsund
69692 Askersund
Sweden

Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family at this difficult time.