During the lead-up to war in March 2003, United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix had found no stockpiles of WMD and had made significant progress toward resolving open issues of disarmament noting " proactive " but not always the " immediate " Iraqi cooperation as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

On 7 March 2003, Blix made his twelfth quarterly report on the status of UNMOVIC's efforts to verify Iraq's disarmament.

The most important French speech during the crisis was made by De Villepin at the Security Council on the 14 February 2003, after Hans Blix presented his detailed report ( see below ).

* Hans Blix states that Iraq still has not made a " fundamental decision " to disarm, despite recent signs of increased cooperation.

Blix says, " No evidence of proscribed activities have so far been found ," saying that progress was made in inspections which would continue.

They were made ​​ by Lauritz Lauritzen and painted by Thomas Blix in 1728.

* Two days before his scheduled update to the United Nations on Iraqi cooperation with inspection, Hans Blix credits Iraq with " a great deal more of cooperation now ", although still expressing some skepticism as to whether or not the cooperation would continue.

During the renewed inspections beginning in November 2002, Blix found no stockpiles of WMD and noted " proactive " but not always the " immediate " Iraqi cooperation as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

" Blix went on to state that the Iraqi regime had allegedly misplaced " 1, 000 tonnes " of VX nerve agent — one of the most toxic ever developed.

* UNMOVIC Chairman Hans Blix tells UNSC members that the Iraqi weapons declaration filed on December 7 " is essentially a reorganized version " of information Iraq provided UNSCOM in 1997, and that it " is not enough to create confidence " that Iraq has abandoned its WMD efforts.

Blix files a 173 page document with the Security Council which says that inspectors discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone, with a wingspan of 7. 45 m ( 24 ft 5 in ), suggesting an illegal range beyond 150 km.

In February 2010, the Government of the United Arab Emirates announced that Blix will be the head of an advisory board for its nuclear power program.

Blix chaired the Swedish Liberal Party's campaign during the 1980 referendum on nuclear power, campaigning in favor of retention of the Swedish nuclear energy program.

Former U. N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said the Allied Coalition might ask Saddam Hussein meaningful questions about Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programmes, " He ought to know quite a lot, and be able to tell the story ; we all want to get to the bottom of the barrel ".

On nuclear issues, he was a member of the Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction sponsored by Sweden and chaired by Hans Blix which reported in June 2006 ; and the Commission of Eminent Persons on The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond, chaired by Ernesto Zedillo, whose report Reinforcing the Global Nuclear Order for Peace and Prosperity was launched in June 2008.

Söder's party left the government in 1978 over a conflict on nuclear power, and she was succeeded by liberal Hans Blix.

* The headline was echoed in a New York Times editorial entitled " Hicks Nix Blix Fix " in 2002 by William Safire about the Bush administration's rejection of UN-backed inspections to ease nuclear tensions with North Korea.

On 19 December, Hans Blix reported before the United Nations and stated in regards to Iraq's 7 December report ( unedited version ): " During the period 1991 – 1998, Iraq submitted many declarations called full, final and complete.

During the Iraq disarmament crisis before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Blix was called back from retirement by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to lead United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in charge of monitoring Iraq.

Blix said that after the empty chemical warheads were found on the 16th, Iraq produced papers documenting the destruction of many other similar warheads, which had not been disclosed before.

The Iraq Survey Group replaced the United Nations inspections teams ( the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission ( UNMOVIC ), led by Hans Blix ) and from the International Atomic Energy Agency ( led by Mohamed ElBaradei ), which had been mandated by the UN Security Council to search for illegal weapons before the conflict ( See Iraq disarmament crisis ).

He did, however, offer his resignation to Hans Blix, hoping to preserve the credibility of his organization before the weapons inspections in Iraq.

On March 7, Hans Blix reported accelerated cooperation throughout the month of February and he informed the UN security council that " it will not take years, nor weeks, but months " to verify whether Iraq had complied with its disarmament obligations.

Blix expressed skepticism over Iraq's claims to have destroyed its stockpiles of anthrax and VX nerve agent in Time magazine.

Blix also expresses skepticism over Iraq's claims to have destroyed its stockpiles of anthrax and VX nerve agent in Time magazine.

Using the Borgund Stave Church as a model, architect Peter Andreas Blix reconstructed the church between 1884 and 1891, restoring its 17th-century painted decor to what was assumed to be the original medieval appearance.

A team of U. N. inspectors, led by Swedish diplomat Hans Blix was admitted, into the country ; their final report stated that Iraqis capability in producing " weapons of mass destruction " was not significantly different from 1992 when the country dismantled the bulk of their remaining arsenals under terms of the ceasefire agreement with U. N. forces, but did not completely rule out the possibility that Saddam still had Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Whether Iraq actually had weapons of mass destruction or not was being investigated by Hans Blix, head of the Commission, and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Blix has complained that, to this day, the United States and Britain have not presented him with the evidence which they claim to possess regarding Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Blix said he found it " a bit odd " that Iraq, with " one of the best-organized regimes in the Arab world ," would claim to have no records of the destruction of these illegal substances.

* The chief United Nations arms inspector Hans Blix says Iraq appears to be making fresh efforts to cooperate with U. N. teams hunting weapons of mass destruction, while Washington says the " momentum is building " for war with Iraq.

Blix said he found it " a bit odd " that Iraq, with " one of the best-organized regimes in the Arab world ," would claim to have no records of the destruction of these illegal substances.

* In a BBC interview, Dr. Hans Blix accuses the U. S. and British governments of dramatising the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in order to strengthen the case for the 2003 invasion.

* February 26-United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said there is no evidence that Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Cole served only one term, after which the IAEA was headed by two Swedes for nearly four decades: the scientist Sigvard Eklund held the job from 1961 to 1981, followed by former Swedish Foreign Minister Hans Blix, who served from 1981 to 1997.

Mr. Blix was succeeded as Director General by Mohamed ElBaradei of Egypt, who served until November 2009.

* 2002 – Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.

After the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, which demanded that Iraq give " immediate, unconditional and active cooperation " with UN and IAEA inspections, Hussein allowed U. N. weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix to return to Iraq.

* November 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.

The Bush administration began a military buildup in the region, and pushed for the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which brought weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to Iraq.

At the concert, his first in two years, " a very thin and frail " Norman performed " stripped down versions " of his classic songs in a solo set, followed by a set backed by Charles Norman, Jason Carter, Kristin Blix and Karson Swedberg.

Weapons inspectors returned on 27 November, led by Hans Blix of UNMOVIC and Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Blix was also the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos.

Blix questioned the interpretations of the satellite images put forward by Powell, and stated that alternate interpretations of the satellite images were credible.

Political preparation for war began in earnest during the period of weapons inspections in Iraq over the winter of 2002 – 2003, carried out by a team led by Hans Blix with the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441.