Secretary-General Appoints Martin Griffiths of United Kingdom Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency Relief Coordinator
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He will succeed Mark Lowcock, also of the United Kingdom, to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his dedicated service to the Organization and commitment in mobilizing assistance and resources to protect and alleviate the conditions of the many people affected by humanitarian crises.
Mr. Griffiths brings extensive leadership experience in humanitarian affairs at the Headquarters and country levels, both strategically and operationally, as well as senior-level experience in international conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation. He has been the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen since 2018, a position in which he will continue to serve until a transition is announced.
Mr. Griffiths served as Adviser to three Special Envoys of the Secretary‑General for Syria and Deputy Head of the United Nations Supervision Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic (UNSMIS), from 2012 to 2014. He was the first Executive Director of the European Institute of Peace (2014-2018) and founding Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva (1999-2010), where he specialized in developing political dialogue between Governments and insurgents in a range of countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.
His professional experience spans from resource mobilization and donor relations to managing natural disaster responses, to international advocacy and diplomacy. He has worked in the British diplomatic service, United Nations, international humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children and Action Aid.
In addition, Mr. Griffiths served in Geneva as Director of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs — which preceded the establishment of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — as well as Deputy to the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator in New York and United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes and the Balkans.
He holds a master’s degree in South-East Asian studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and is a qualified barrister. He speaks English and French.
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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1789-BIO/5062 of 16 February 2018.