Martin Griffiths
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Assumed office
19 July 2021
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byMark Lowcock
United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen
In office
16 February 2018 – 19 July 2021
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byIsmail Ould Cheikh Ahmed
Succeeded byHans Grundberg
Personal details
Born (1951-07-03) 3 July 1951 (age 72)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
NationalityBritish
Children2

Martin Griffiths (born 3 July 1951) is a British diplomat who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations.[1]

Personal life and education

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka,[2] Griffiths was educated at Leighton Park School and the University of Sussex. He holds a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and is a qualified barrister.[3] He speaks French and English.[4]

Career

Griffiths meets with U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2019.

Griffiths was a career diplomat at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is an experienced conflict mediator.[2] Griffiths previously served as the first executive director of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to September 2018.[5] In 1999, he helped launch the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva. He has also worked for Save The Children, Action Aid and UNICEF and has worked as an advisor to multiple United Nations Syria envoys.[2]

From 16 February 2018 to 19 July 2021 Griffiths served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen at the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.[6] In February 2021 he visited Iran in an attempt to find a political solution to the Yemeni Civil War.[7] Efforts to end the conflict were largely unsuccessful.[citation needed]

On 12 May 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he had appointed Griffiths as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), taking over from Mark Lowcock.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator", United Nations, 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Who is Martin Griffiths, the British mediator bringing formidable experience to Yemen envoy role?". The National. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Special Envoy for Yemen". United Nations Secretary-General. 16 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator". 12 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Special Announcement: Michael Keating as new Executive Director | European Institute of Peace". www.eip.org. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Special Envoy". United Nations Secretary-General. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. ^ "UN envoy for Yemen in Iran for talks on long-running conflict". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2021.
  8. ^ Wintour, Patrick (12 May 2021). "Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths to take on top UN humanitarian job". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
Positions in intergovernmental organisations Preceded byMark Lowcock () Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2021–present Succeeded by
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