New Deputy High Commissioner arrives

UNHCR yesterday welcomed the arrival of our new Deputy High Commissioner, Ms. Wendy Chamberlin. Ms. Chamberlin, who brings nearly 30 years of foreign service experience, including work with refugees in Africa and South-east Asia, was welcomed by High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers and Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane at a special meeting of the senior management committee yesterday afternoon.

Ms. Chamberlin was confirmed in December following consultations between the High Commissioner and Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Ms. Chamberlin joined the U.S. foreign service in 1975 and rose to become Ambassador to Laos and later Pakistan. Her career with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) took her to Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) before she was appointed as the Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Asia and the Near East in June 2002.

Ms. Chamberlin succeeds Ms. Mary Ann Wyrsch, who served UNHCR as Deputy High Commissioner from April 2001 to December 2003.