Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Senior United Nations role
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is a high-level position in the United Nations that heads the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
1992
December 1991
| Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations | |
|---|---|
 | |
since October 2024 | |
| Inaugural holder | Jan Eliasson 1992 |
| Formation | General Assembly Resolution 46/182.[1] December 1991 |
| Website | unocha.org |
The position has been held since October 2024 by Thomas Fletcher, the sixth Briton in a row to serve in the role.
History
The post of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) was created by UN resolution 46/182 in December 1991 to coordinate the efforts of the United Nations, member states and the wider humanitarian community in response to natural and man-made emergencies.
The post is one of five cabinet-level UN positions that are traditionally held by nationals from the five permanent members of the Security Council; since 2007, six British nationals have been appointed to that position.[2] Before 2007, British nationals held the position of Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs for more than a decade.[3]
List of Under-Secretaries-General
| # | Name | Nationality | Office entered | Office left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Eliasson |  Sweden |
1992 | 1994 |
| 2 | Peter Hansen |  Denmark |
1994 | 1996 |
| 3 | Yasushi Akashi |  Japan |
1996 | 1998 |
| 4 | Sérgio Vieira de Mello |  Brazil |
1998 | January 2001 |
| 5 | Kenzo Oshima | Japan |
January 2001 | June 2003 |
| 6 | Jan Egeland |  Norway |
June 2003 | December 2006 |
| 7 | John Holmes |  United Kingdom |
January 2007[4] | September 2010 |
| 8 | Valerie Amos | United Kingdom |
September 2010[5][6] | May 2015 |
| 9 | Stephen O'Brien | United Kingdom |
May 2015[7] | September 2017 |
| 10 | Mark Lowcock | United Kingdom |
September 2017[8] | July 2021 |
| 11 | Martin Griffiths | United Kingdom |
July 2021 | March 2024 |
| 12 | Thomas Fletcher | United Kingdom |
October 2024[9] | current |
