Keep up to date with The Elders:

Sign up to receive monthly newsletters from The Elders. We will occasionally send you other special updates and news, but we'll never share your email address with third parties.
Close
SHARE:

Founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, we are independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights

News & Insight
Who We Are
 Close

Ban Ki-moon

Deputy Chair

Former UN Secretary-General and former South Korean Foreign Minister; championed the world’s vulnerable by putting Sustainable Development, climate change, and gender equality at the top of the UN agenda.

Share:
More About Ban Ki-moon

Lakhdar Brahimi

Former Algerian freedom fighter, Foreign Minister, conflict mediator and UN diplomat; an expert in peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction.

Share:
More About Lakhdar Brahimi

Gro Harlem Brundtland

First woman Prime Minister of Norway; a medical doctor who champions health as a human right; put sustainable development on the international agenda.

Share:
More About Gro Harlem Brundtland

Zeid Raad Al Hussein

Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; champion of international justice and multilateralism; veteran Jordanian diplomat and peacekeeping expert.

Share:
More About Zeid Raad Al Hussein

Hina Jilani

Pioneering lawyer and pro-democracy campaigner; a leading activist in Pakistan's women's movement and international champion of human rights.

Share:
More About Hina Jilani

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Former President of Liberia and Africa’s first elected female head of state; Nobel Peace Laureate; a leading promoter of peace, justice and democratic rule; a voice for freedom and advocate for health for all.

Share:
More About Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Ricardo Lagos

Former President of Chile; tenacious fighter for democracy and human rights; implemented health reform; and reduced economic inequality while diversifying Chile’s external trade in the era of globalisation.

Share:
More About Ricardo Lagos

Graça Machel

Deputy Chair

International advocate for women’s and children's rights; former freedom fighter and first Education Minister of Mozambique.

Share:
More About Graça Machel

Juan Manuel Santos

Former President of Colombia; a Nobel Peace Laureate who led complex peace negotiations, ending over 50 years of intractable civil war.

Share:
More About Juan Manuel Santos

Mary Robinson

Chair of The Elders

First woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Chair of The Elders; a passionate, forceful advocate for gender equality, women’s participation in peace-building and human dignity.

Share:
More About Mary Robinson

Ernesto Zedillo

Former President of Mexico who led profound democratic and social reforms; economist and advocate of multilateralism, inclusive globalisation, nuclear non-proliferation and drug policy reform.

Share:
More About Ernesto Zedillo

Martti Ahtisaari

Elder Emeritus

Former President of Finland; Nobel Peace Laureate and expert in international peace mediation, diplomacy and post-conflict state building.

Share:
More About Martti Ahtisaari

Ela Bhatt

Elder Emeritus

The ‘gentle revolutionary’; a pioneer in women’s empowerment and grassroots development, founder of the more than 1 million-strong Self-Employed Women’s Association in India.

Share:
More About Ela Bhatt

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Elder Emeritus

Former President of Brazil; implemented major land reform programme, reduced poverty and significantly improved health and education; an acclaimed sociologist and global advocate for drug policy reform.

Share:
More About Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Jimmy Carter

Elder Emeritus

Former President of the United States, Nobel Peace Laureate and veteran peace negotiator; dedicated to advancing peace, democracy and health worldwide.

Share:
More About Jimmy Carter

Desmond Tutu

Elder Emeritus

Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Laureate; a veteran anti-apartheid activist and peace campaigner widely regarded as ‘South Africa’s moral conscience’.

Share:
More About Desmond Tutu

How we work & what we do

The Elders work covers three overarching themes...

Governance and Leadership

Global challenges require global solutions

Conflict, its Causes and Consequences

Peace and the prevention of conflict is possible

Inequality, Exclusion and Injustice

Building a more stable world
Latest News & Insight More on what we do

Latest News & Insight

 News

The Elders in China
24 Apr 2019
Mary Robinson, Ban Ki-moon, Lakhdar Brahimi, Ricardo Lagos and Ernesto Zedillo met with President Xi and other leaders on The Elders first official trip to China.
Ethical Leadership
 Opinion

Femicide is a crime against all humanity
12 Aug 2019
Ricardo Lagos laments the normalisation of violence against women and girls in Latin America and calls for leadership and investment to end this shameful reality. First published in El Pais in English and Spanish.
Access to Justice
 Videos

#JusticeForAll: Elders' call for greater commitments
11 Jul 2019
More than 5 billion people do not have meaningful access to justice. This should shame us all. The Elders are calling on all leaders to make more ambitious commitments to achieve Justice For All at the High Level Political Forum in New York.
Access to Justice
 Guest Blog

The climate and human cost of intensive farming
16 Aug 2019
This month, the IPCC released a new report highlighting the serious choices that will need to be made about how humans interact with the land systems that provide our societies with the food and water we need to survive.
Climate Change, UHC
 Speech

A moment to demand real ambition from leaders to achieve the SDGs
16 Jul 2019
Mary Robinson addressed the opening of the ministerial segment of the High Level Political Forum at the UN in New York
Access to Justice, Climate Change, Ethical Leadership
 Guest Blog

Dialogue must be routine, not reward, in the fight against conflict
02 Aug 2019
As the new chair of the UN Security Council takes the seat, The Elders’ Head of Programmes, Jane Kinninmont, reflects on the need for states to institutionalise dialogue to avoid conflict.
Conflict, Ethical Leadership
 Press release

The Elders warn of escalating nuclear tensions following termination of INF Treaty
29 Jul 2019
The Elders' statement on the imminent termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia.
Ethical Leadership
The Elders in the world

Video and gallery content from The Elders

Mandela's vision for a better world
 Video
#JusticeForAll: Elders' call for greater commitments
 Video
Together #WithRefugees: Elders visit Gambela, Ethiopia
 Gallery
Highlights from #WalkTogether - continue Mandela's long walk to freedom
 Gallery
#NuclearThreat: a call for minimisation
 Video
 Join the conversation Discover more video and galleries

I would like to find:

Search
Close
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.