Jesper Brodin

The former flat-pack king is now poised to take on the refugee crisis, writes Andrew Anthony

- Andrew Anthony

Hidden away on YouTube is a song called Rain on Java by an amateur Swedish band named Lord Beaverbrook. It has 15 views and might pass as the very definition of musical obscurity were it not for one inconspicuous detail.

The singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band is Jesper Brodin, the outgoing CEO of the Ingka Group — which runs Ikea, the world's largest furniture company.

In August, Brodin, a charismatic 56-year-old with a disarmingly relaxed manner, announced his departure from the business after 30 years, the last eight as CEO. He said at the time that he didn't have any plans. “But if the phone doesn't ring,” he added, “I'll probably have to resume my old hard rock career.”

The phone did ring. This month, guitar heroism was put on hold when the Swedish government nominated Brodin to become the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).

Exactly what a man who has spent most of his career overseeing the production and sale of flat-packed wardrobes has to do with the plight of the world's displaced may not be immediately obvious. And indeed there are more favoured candidates, such as Switzerland's former migration minister Christine Schraner Burgener, who have far greater expertise in the field of refugee work.

But as Sweden's international development and trade minister Benjamin Dousa put it: “The UN system would be strengthened by a person with business experience, especially given the major challenges now facing the UN. That's why someone who knows how to keep hold of the purse strings and deliver efficient operations is needed.”

Efficiency and the UN have never made obvious bedfellows. There are a couple of factors, however, that strengthen Brodin's case. One is that the UNHCR, as Dousa noted, is suffering from severe funding cuts, with its budget expected to be 20% down next year. The other is that Sweden is the UNHCR's donor of unearmarked support.