Terje Rød-Larsen (born 22 November 1947) is a Norwegian former diplomat and politician. He held a number of public offices in Norway and at the UN until 2004.

After leaving public service, he became a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, and has worked to bolster contact between the MAGA movement and the European far right. Rød-Larsen and his wife Mona Juul are both under investigation for corruption in Norway related to their ties to Epstein.

Early life and education

Rød-Larsen grew up in Bergen and studied social sciences, culminating in a Ph.D. in sociology. He taught at Norwegian universities until 1981, when he helped found FAFO, a research organization funded by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. He married Merete Alfsen in 1971, with whom he had a daughter before their divorce in 1982.

Career

Rød-Larsen came to wide international prominence as a key figure in the 1990s negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords—the first-ever agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—when he served as the director of the Fafo institute. He is played by the actor Andrew Scott in the film Oslo, based on the play of the same name. In 1993, Rød-Larsen was appointed Ambassador and Special Adviser for the Middle East Peace process to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, and the following year, he became the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process at the rank of Under-Secretary-General. Rød-Larsen briefly served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Planning and Cooperation of Norway in the Jagland cabinet in 1996. He had to resign after a tax affair regarding him came to public attention.

Rød-Larsen then returned to the United Nations, where he again became an Under-Secretary-General, serving as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority from 1999 to 2004. From 2004 to 2020, Rød-Larsen was the president of the International Peace Institute (IPI), based in New York City, adjacent to the United Nations, which the IPI works with extensively. He resigned in 2020 over previously undisclosed links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Fafo Institute

In 1982, Rød-Larsen founded the Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science in Oslo. Initially funded by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, Fafo later received support from major companies including Orkla, UMOE, Elkem, Coop Norge, Sparebank 1, and Telenor. He subsequently left the post in 2004 to become president of the International Peace Academy, a NYC-based think tank, and was also designated as UN Special Representative on 3 January 2005 for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for Syrian withdrawal of Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

International Peace Institute

In 2005, Rød-Larsen became President of the International Peace Institute (formerly International Peace Academy). Under his leadership, IPI expanded its headquarters, opened offices in Europe and the Middle East, and became a forum for UN-related dialogue. In October 2020, Rød-Larsen resigned after media revelations that IPI had accepted donations from entities connected to Jeffrey Epstein. The contributions represented less than 1% of IPI’s budget. An internal KPMG review found all donations were properly recorded and concluded that there was “no evidence that any laws or regulations were breached.” Rød-Larsen also disclosed that he had received and repaid a personal loan from Epstein.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

16 August

Rød-Larsen was sent by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Lebanon and Israel to follow up on the implementation of the cease-fire resolution, the United Nations announced on 16 August 2006.

20 August

On this date Rød-Larsen told reporters. "There is a golden opportunity for Lebanon to solidify its democracy, to assert it authority, to produce a situation where Lebanon can be reconstructed and where Lebanese can live peacefully with its neighbors in prosperity. All this is at hand."

22 August

The United Nations special envoy to Syria and Lebanon said on 22 August 2006 it could take the Lebanese army and international troops two to three months to fill a "security vacuum" in southern Lebanon and warned that "unintended" acts could spark renewed fighting. Terje Rød-Larsen said, "There is now a security vacuum which the Lebanese government is trying to fill" with the help of international forces, and added, "But I think realistically, up to a point, you will have such a vacuum in Lebanon for the next two, three months. The situation is still extremely fragile... Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control."

Reception

Rød-Larsen's work is associated with the practice of "track-two diplomacy", using informal channels to mediate conflicts. Although the Oslo process stalled in later years, scholars credit his methods as influential for subsequent peace initiatives. His reputation was affected by the Epstein donations controversy, though internal and external reviews cleared him of legal wrongdoing. On 29 October 2020, Rød-Larsen resigned the presidency of the IPI. Within the files, Rød-Larsen described Epstein as "my best friend" and "a thoroughly good human being". Rød-Larsen is under investigation for corruption in Norway.

Norwegian authorities alerted U.S. Epstein investigators in 2019 after reports that Terje Rød-Larsen's think tank, the International Peace Institute, allegedly brought in young and unqualified women from Eastern Europe on very short internships whose photos were shared with Epstein, despite the institute having received extensive Norwegian state funding.

Morits Skaugen, a since-bankrupt shipowner, said he was forced to sell his large Frogner apartment for half its value to Rød-Larsen and Juul, with Epstein acting as the middle man, stating that the sale was not voluntary and that his family was threatened on Rød-Larsen's and Juul's behalf by Epstein. Epstein showed Skaugen pictures of himself with the chairman of the bank that Skaugen's company had lent money from and a detailed map of all his business connections around the world, and also threatened to fire one of Skaugen's relatives from the International Peace Institute unless Skaugen sold Rød-Larsen the apartment for half its value, stating that they could not continue "with one of your family members working for us". He described the actions taken by Rød-Larsen and Juul with the help of Epstein as "mafia methods".

Aftenposten described him as the central node in Epstein's network in Norway.

  • Commander of the National Order of the Cedar (Lebanon)
  • Order of Merit (Palestinian Authority)
  • Peer Gynt Prize (Norway, 1994, jointly with Mona Juul)
  • Shimon Peres Peace Prize (Israel)
  • Histadrut Peace Prize (Israel)

Personal life

Rød-Larsen is married to diplomat Mona Juul, with whom he facilitated the Oslo negotiations. They have two children, twin siblings, one daughter and one son. On 29 April 2026, their son Edward died after committing suicide. It is speculated if the Epstein files would have led to enormous pressure leading to the tragic death.

Terje is also the father of author Hilde Rød-Larsen from his first marriage.

References

  • Innlegg: Fredsmeglingens fallgruver [Received articles: The pitfalls of peace-brokering]. 7 May 2021. Dagens Næringsliv
  • Rød-Larsen's wife, Mona Juul's house bugged, Nettavisen, 20 January 2004.
  • Rød-Larsen at the UN, 13 July 2004.
  • Rød-Larsen overseeing Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, 17 March 2005.
  • Foreign ministry to investigate money to Rød-Larsen, 24 April 2002
  • Rød-Larsen wanted to become United Nations-chief (Rød-Larsen ville bli FN-sjef)