May-Elin Stener

May-Elin Stener is currently Ambassador of Norway to India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and theMaldives. Prior to taking up this position, from 2020-2023, she was the Deputy Director General of the Regional department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, covering Africa, Asia, Latin -America and the Middle East, as well as peace and reconciliation issues. May-Elin headed the section for Horn of Africa and West-Africa between 2018-2020. She was Norway’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations headquarter in New York (2014-2018) as well as Deputy Head of the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa (2007-2011). She has worked for the Norwegian Foreign Service since 1995, and has extensive diplomatic experience multilaterally, with a focus on humanitarian affairs. She has also been posted to the UN offices in Geneva and has headed the Section for Humanitarian Affairs in the Ministry. Stener is married with one adult daughter and two adult stepchildren. She is a lawyer by training.