UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Valerie Amos as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
She succeeds Sir John Holmes, also a British national, to whom the Secretary-General expressed gratitude for his dedicated service to the Organization. (Sir John delivered a major speech on humanitarian challenges facing the UN at UNA-UK's Annual Conference in 2009.)
Baroness Amos brings extensive experience to the position, having served inter alia as FCO Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Africa, the Caribbean and the Commonwealth, and Secretary of State for International Development. She is currently British High Commissioner to Australia.
On her appointment, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: ""It is vital that we have the right funding, people and approaches in place to deal with future humanitarian crises.I look forward to working closely with Baroness Amos to ensure we do just that, securing an international system that responds effectively and efficiently to the needs of people who have had their lives devastated by natural disasters."
Click here to read the UN's press release on the appointment.
