Italian diplomat Grandi to be new UN refugee chief
Date
11/12/2015 3:39:14 AM
United Nations United States:UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced the appointment of Italian diplomat Filippo Grandi as the new UN refugee chief tasked with handling the world's worst-ever refugee crisis.
The 58-year-old diplomat will replace Antonio Guterres of Portugal who was UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 2005 a UN statement said.
Grandi who will take up the job on January 1 was head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from 2005 to 2010 and served in the UN mission in Afghanistan.
He has also worked for UNHCR in Sudan Syria Turkey and Iraq and led humanitarian operations in Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo among other countries.
Guterres is due to step down at the end of the year after leading UN efforts to help 60 million people worldwide who have been driven from their homes by wars and persecution.
UNHCR has said that number marks an all-time high surpassing the 50 million people who were displaced during World War II.
AFP