Between 1996 and 1997, Dr Bengt Thelin was President of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Council of Foundation. The Council preceded the Board, with the President being equivalent to Chair.
Bengt was Director of Further Education for Teachers at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, from 1962 to 1969.
He then served as Director of Upper Secondary Education at the Swedish National Board of Education between 1969 and 1989.
In this role his responsibilities included questions of educational internationalization. He introduced compulsory human rights and peace education into the curriculum and encouraged student exchanges abroad.
Bengt was a prolific writer of articles on various aspects of peace and education including “What to do about war toys: the Swedish experience” and “Peace education: A tentative introduction from a Swedish perspective”, where he discussed the concept of peace education and offered a rationale for the inclusion of peace education in school curricula throughout the world.
Dr Thelin is recognized as a champion of human rights and peace education in line with IB philosophy. He is also an accomplished opera singer.
 Council of Foundation. The Council preceded the Board, with the President being equivalent to Chair.){kind=icon}