Inga-Britt Ahlenius, most recently Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) will be the new holder of the Assar Gabrielsson Visiting Professorship at the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg.
The first time Inga-Britt Ahlenius became known to many Swedes was in 2003 when, as Director General of the Swedish National Audit Office, she was actively involved in the transfer of the Audit Office away from the direct control of Government to become an independent authority under Parliament. This caused considerable outrage among the government at the time. Inga-Britt Ahlenius was also active in the enquiry into suspected corruption in the European Commission. Set up by the European Parliament, it resulted in the resignation of the Commission in 1999. In 2003-2005, she was responsible for the new audit authority in Kosovo under the administration of the UN and in 2005, she was appointed Under-Secretary-General for the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Following her resignation from the post in 2010, she wrote a report in which she was highly critical of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and his leadership of the UN. The report attracted a great deal of international attention.
"We are extremely pleased and proud that we have been able to attract Inga-Britt Ahlenius to us," says Dean of the School Per Cramér. "She is an inspiring role model and will be a major asset to students, research staff and our partner companies."
The Assar Gabrielsson Professorship
The professorship was initiated in 1999 in memory of Assar Gabrielsson and is funded through a gift from the foundation Stiftelsen Göteborgs Handelshögskolefond. The purpose of the professorship is to provide students with wider knowledge regarding application of the theories in economics and leadership that they encounter in their studies. Previous holders of the professorship include Björn Stigson, Håkan Larsson, Lennart Jeansson, Göran Malm and Marianne Nivert.