United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a part of the United Nations. The purpose of this agency is to protect and support refugees when governments or the UN ask for help. The UNHCR helps refugees return home out of their voluntary will, settle locally, or move to a third country according to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other international law. The agency's headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group chaired by United Nations Development Programme.^[1] The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes in 1954 and in 1981.^[2]

List of High Commissioners

No.	High Commissioner	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Nationality
–	Nansen, FridtjofFridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) League of Nations High Commissioner	1 September 1921	1927	4–5 years	Norway
1	Goedhart, Gerrit Jan van HeuvenGerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart (1901–1956)	1 January 1951	8 July 1956	5 years, 189 days	Netherlands
2	Lindt, August R.August R. Lindt (1905–2000)	8 July 1956	3 November 1960	4 years, 118 days	Switzerland
3	Schnyder, FélixFélix Schnyder (1910–1992)	3 November 1960	31 December 1965	5 years, 58 days	Switzerland
4	Khan, Sadruddin AgaSadruddin Aga Khan (1933–2003)	1 January 1966	31 December 1977	11 years, 364 days	Iran
5	Hartling, PoulPoul Hartling (1914–2000)	1 January 1978	31 December 1985	7 years, 364 days	Denmark
6	Hocké, Jean-PierreJean-Pierre Hocké (1938–2021)	1 January 1986	31 December 1989	3 years, 364 days	Switzerland
7	Stoltenberg, ThorvaldThorvald Stoltenberg (1931–2018)	1 January 1990	3 November 1990	306 days	Norway
8	Ogata, SadakoSadako Ogata (1927–2019)	3 November 1990	31 December 2000	10 years, 59 days	Japan
9	Lubbers, RuudRuud Lubbers (1939–2018) (Resigned due to internal investigation)	1 January 2001	20 February 2005	4 years, 50 days	Netherlands
–	Chamberlin, WendyWendy Chamberlin (born 1948) Acting	24 February 2005	2 June 2005	98 days	United States
10	Guterres, AntónioAntónio Guterres (born 1949)	2 June 2005	31 December 2015	10 years, 212 days	Portugal
11	Grandi, FilippoFilippo Grandi (born 1957)	1 January 2016	31 December 2025	9 years, 364 days	Italy
12	Salih, BarhamBarham Salih (born 1960)	1 January 2026	Incumbent	251 days	Iraq

Related pages

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

References

↑ "UNDG Members". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
↑ "Nobel Laureates Facts – Organizations". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2009-10-13.

[1] "UNDG Members". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-11-22.

[NobelFactsorg-2] "Nobel Laureates Facts – Organizations". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2009-10-13.

[1]

[2]

v t e International human rights organizations and institutions
Types	Human rights group Human rights commission Human rights institutions Truth and reconciliation commission
International institutions	Committee on the Rights of the Child Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities International Criminal Court Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights UN Human Rights Committee UN Human Rights Council UN Security Council
Regional bodies	African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights African Court of Justice European Court of Human Rights European Committee for the Prevention of Torture Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Multi-lateral bodies	European Union Council of Europe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Organization of American States (OAS) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) International Labour Organization (ILO) World Health Organization (WHO) UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) UN Population Fund (UNFPA) UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) UN Development Programme (UNDP) Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Major NGOs	Amnesty International FIDH Human Rights Watch Emergency NGO Human Rights First
ICRC – organization with special status based on Geneva Conventions	International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)