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Peter Maurer

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Peter Maurer during a three-day mission in Syria, in September 2012.
Maurer (left) meets with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) in 2018

Peter Maurer (born 1956) is the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),[1] appointed 1 July 2012. Maurer was born in Thun, Switzerland.

Education

Maurer studied History and International Law in Berne, and was awarded a PhD.

Career

In 1987, Maurer entered the Swiss Diplomatic Service (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs), where he held various positions in Berne and Pretoria, before being transferred to New York in 1996 as Deputy Permanent Observer at the Swiss Mission to the United Nations. In 2000, he was appointed Ambassador and head of the division in charge of human security at the headquarters of Switzerland's Foreign Ministry in Berne.[2]

In 2004, Maurer was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York. In this position, he endeavoured to integrate Switzerland, which had only recently joined the United Nations, into multilateral networks. In June 2009, the United Nations General Assembly elected Maurer Chairman of the Fifth Committee, in charge of United Nations administrative and budgetary affairs.[3] In addition, he was elected Chairman of the Burundi Configuration of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. In January 2010, Maurer became Switzerland's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, a position he held until he was elected President of the ICRC.

Since 2012, Maurer has led the ICRC through a historic budget increase, from 1.1 billion CHF in 2011 to over 1.6 billion CHF in 2015.[4] In addition, he launched the world’s first “humanitarian impact bond” scheme, in which private investors lend €22 million of five-year funding and their repayments depend on what difference the project makes to its clients’ lives.[5] Since 2019, Maurer has been co-chairing the World Economic Forum High-Level Group on Humanitarian Investing, alongside Børge Brende and Kristalina Georgieva.[6]

Other activities

Recognition

Personal life

Maurer is married and the father of two children.

References

  1. ^ "The president and vice-president of the ICRC". 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ^ "ICRC names new president". 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Peter Maurer of Switzerland Chair of Fifth Committee". 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ^ "ICRC Finances". 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ^ Kate Allen (September 8, 2017) Red Cross launches “humanitarian impact bond” Financial Times.
  6. ^ World Economic Forum 2019 Annual Meeting launching a new Humanitarian Investing Initiative World Economic Forum, press release of January 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Members International Gender Champions (IGC).
  8. ^ "Peter Maurer Joins Foundation Board, World Economic Forum". 2015. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ Global Future Council: The Future of the Humanitarian System World Economic Forum.
  10. ^ Dies Academicus 2014 at the University of Basel: Honorary Doctorate for ICRC President Peter Maurer University of Basel, press release of November 28, 2014.
  11. ^ Honorary Doctorate Conferred on Dr. Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Waseda University, press release of December 7, 2018.
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