The International Committee of the Red Cross elects Mirjana Spoljaric Egger as next president.
The Assembly, the governing body of the International Committee of the Red Cross, announced today that it has elected Mirjana Spoljaric Egger as the ICRC’s next president. She will succeed President Peter Maurer who has decided to step down in September 2022 after he reaches 10 years of service.
Ms Spoljaric Egger is currently the Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She will begin her renewable four-year term as ICRC president on 1 October 2022.
Mr Maurer, who presides over the Assembly, said:
“Ms Spoljaric Egger will bring strategic vision, strong international experience and an extensive diplomatic background to the role. She is an accomplished leader, and I am confident that she will be a powerful and compassionate advocate for people affected by armed conflict and violence.”
Ms Spoljaric Egger said:
“It is a great honour and a great responsibility to be elected president of an organisation which I have long admired for its inspiring and vital global mission. I will work hard to embody the humanitarian values that the organisation is built on and relies on to reach communities affected by conflict and violence. In my work to represent the organisation, I will strive to highlight the needs of the most vulnerable and to do justice to the incredible impact of ICRC’s teams in conflict settings worldwide.”
Ms Spoljaric Egger previously served as Head of the United Nations and International Organisations Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She took up several assignments in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern, Cairo, New York and in the Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Ms Spoljaric Egger studied at the University of Basel and the University of Geneva, and holds a master’s degree in Philosophy, Economics and International Law. She is married with two children.
Mr Maurer will continue to lead the ICRC through September 2022 and ensure implementation of its institutional strategy, execution of its humanitarian diplomacy activities, and a seamless transition to his successor.