The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will be headed by the first female president. The international health body elected Swiss diplomat and UN official Mirjana Spoljaric Egger as its next chief, Reuters has learned.
For the first time, the Assembly, the governing body of the ICRC, has elected the first woman to lead the organization. She will begin her renewable four-year term on Oct. 1, 2022. The Swiss diplomat Spoljaric Egger will succeed current president Peter Maurer, who is stepping down after 10 years of service in September 2022.
As the Geneva-based humanitarian organization said in a statement on Thursday, the Assembly elected Spoljaric Egger, currently the UN assistant secretary-general heading the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the UN Development Program.
“I am confident that she will be a powerful and compassionate advocate for people affected by armed conflict and violence,” Maurer said.
Ms Egger confessed that the Red Cross has long inspired her in her global mission. Commenting on her perspecives, the new ICRC chief said ahe 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 globally.
The ICRC’s mission is protecting victims of conflicts in countries and across borders, the organization has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times in 1917, 1944 and 1963.
