Filippo Grandi

Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was first elected by the UN General Assembly on 1 January 2016 for a five-year term.

Filippo Grandi

Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

He was first elected by the UN General Assembly on 1 January 2016 for a five-year term. The General Assembly re-elected him to serve until 30 June 2023.

As United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he heads the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leading the international response to refugee crises around the world, working with governments to ensure that refugees have access to protection and support, and helping find solutions to displacement and statelessness.

Before being elected High Commissioner, Grandi had been engaged in international cooperation for over 30 years, focusing on refugee and humanitarian work.

He served as Commissioner-General of the UN Agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, from 2010 to 2014, after having been the organization's Deputy Commissioner-General since 2005.

Prior to that, Grandi served as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan, following a long career first with NGOs and later with UNHCR in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and at the organization's Geneva headquarters.

Grandi was born in Milan in 1957. He holds a degree in modern history from the State University in Milan, a BA in Philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome, as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of Coventry.

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