Stephen O’Brien takes up the role of UN Humanitarian Chief [EN/AR]

(New York, 1 June 2015) Stephen O’Brien was officially sworn in as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator today in New York, by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

“Starting in my new role as Emergency Relief Coordinator, I look forward to working intensively with the humanitarian community at a time when there are so many people in need and so many crises demanding our urgent action,” said Mr. O’Brien.

As a former Member of Parliament in the UK, Stephen O’Brien was the Prime Minister's Envoy and Special Representative for the Sahel 2012-2015 and prior to that served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development. He brings to the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and advocacy – not least in malaria - together with international leadership and senior management experience in the coordination of collective action within the humanitarian community.

He succeeds Valerie Amos, to whom the Secretary-General has expressed deep gratitude for her dedicated service and commitment to helping the most vulnerable people affected by conflict and disasters around the world.

For further information, please contact:
Amanda Pitt OCHA New York, pitta@un.org, +1 917 442 1810
OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int