Mr. Petersen has from September 2020 to October 2023 served as Assistant Secretary General, Deputy Executive Director (Management) in UNFPA. He came to UNFPA from a position as Director for the Department of Migration, Conflict and Stabilization of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Petersen has over 30 years of experience within the spheres of bilateral and multilateral affairs and development. He served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations in New York from 2013-2019, during which period he held several important duties. Most notably, Mr. Petersen has served on the Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programmes, including as President of the Executive Board of UN Women in 2015 and as President of the Joint UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board in 2017. Mr. Petersen was in 2019 Denmark’s Special Envoy for ICPD25 and the Nairobi Summit as well as Special Envoy for Conflict and Fragility.

Mr. Petersen started his long-serving career with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. Throughout his service, he notably held the positions of State Secretary (Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United Nations) from 2007-2009 and State Secretary for Development Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2009-2013. Mr. Petersen served as Under Secretary for Bilateral Cooperation from 2004-2007, and before that as Director, Department for Development Policy from 2001-2004. During this time, Mr. Petersen led the development of new strategies for Danish development cooperation, strengthened results-based management and successfully implemented development campaigns and initiatives to support economic growth in Africa, as well as promotion of human rights, in particular women's rights and empowerment.

Mr. Petersen holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Aarhus. He is Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Mr. Petersen is married and has two sons.