In September 1999, the Independent International Commission for Kosovo held its first meeting in Stockholm with a brief to analyze objectively the Kosovo crisis that led to the first ever military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Swedish prime minister Goran Persson initiated the work, but the independence of the commission was guaranteed and its chair and cochair were given the freedom to appoint the remaining members. Thirteen multidisciplinary experts from eleven countries on four continents decided on the mandate and terms of reference. (1)