The High Commissioner
© UN Department of Public Information/Eskinder Debebe
UN High
Commissioner for Refugees
António Guterres
A former Portuguese prime minister, António Guterres was elected by the UN General
Assembly to become the 10th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in June
2005.
As High Commissioner, he heads one of the world's foremost humanitarian organizations.
UNHCR has twice won the Nobel Peace Prize. Its over 9,300 staff members work in 123
countries providing protection and assistance to more than 46 million refugees,
returnees, internally displaced people and stateless persons. Some 88 per cent of UNHCR
staff work in the field, often in difficult and dangerous duty stations. The organization's
needs-based budget for 2015 is US$6.8 billion.
Before joining UNHCR, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public
service. He served as Portuguese prime minister from 1995 to 2002, during which time
he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor. As
president of the European Council in early 2000, he led the adoption of the so-called
Lisbon Agenda and co-chaired the first European Union-Africa summit. He also founded
the Portuguese Refugee Council in 1991 and was part of the Council of State of Portugal
from 1991 to 2002.
From 1981 to 1983, Guterres was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, as well as chairman of the Committee on Demography, Migration and
Refugees. In addition, he has been active in Socialist International, a worldwide