Yves Daccord
Yves Daccord | |
---|---|
Born | 1964 Zürich, Switzerland | (age 60)
Occupation | Director of the International Committee of the Red Cross |
Yves Daccord (born in 1964) is the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Early life and education
Daccord was born in Zürich, Switzerland. He attended the Collège Saint-Michel in Fribourg before pursuing his studies at the University of Geneva, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations in 1986. He subsequently pursued postgraduate training as a broadcast journalist, and began working at Radio Télévision Suisse in Geneva in 1987.
Professional career at the ICRC
Daccord joined the ICRC in 1992, running humanitarian operations in various challenging contexts of armed conflict including Israel and the Occupied Territories, Sudan, Yemen, Chechnya and Georgia. He held a number of progressively senior positions within the organisation, including Head of Communication Division (1998-2002) and Director of Communications (2002-2010) before his appointment as Director-General in 2010.[1]
As Director-General, Daccord has overseen a period of transformative change within the ICRC in response to ever-increasing humanitarian needs in armed conflicts and other situations of violence around the world. As the organisation has seen significant growth in its operations in recent years,[2] employing some 16,000 people in more than 80 countries (as of 2017),[3] Daccord has spearheaded significant institutional reforms in areas such as human resources and people management;[4] partnerships and stakeholder management;[5] and innovation and technology .[6] He has spoken and published widely on key issues such as violence against health care ; the risks and opportunities of new technologies in the humanitarian sector;[7] global humanitarian affairs;[8] and the future of humanitarian action.[9]
Titles and honours
In 2014, Daccord was appointed to the chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response(SCHR), a voluntary alliance of nine of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations. In 2015, World Health Organization(WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan appointed Daccord as a member of the Advisory Group on Reform of WHO’s Work in Outbreaks and Emergencies with Health and Humanitarian Consequences.[10] In 2016, he was appointed as a member of the board of the Overseas Development Institute(ODI) in London. He also continues to serve as Vice-Chair of the advisory board of The Performance Theatre, a position he has held since June 2015. In May 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor’s degree in Social Sciences by the University of St. Gallen, in recognition of his “outstanding services to the fortunes of the ICRC.[11]”
Personal life
Daccord is married and has three daughters. He lives in Pregny-Chambésy.
References
- ^ ICRC director-general’s tenure renewed (19 September 2013.ICRC
- ^ ICRC appeal to fund critical operations in 2017 (28 November 2016). .ICRC
- ^ ICRC: who we areICRC
- ^ ICRC Annual Report 2016 (p65)ICRC
- ^ Global Partnerships for Humanitarian Impact and Innovation launched (20 November 2014)ICRC
- ^ Of Humanitarian Bondage, The Economist, 7 September 2017The Economist
- ^ Everyone a Humanitarian: Interview with Yves Daccord, 16 January 2017
- ^ Intercross: in conversation with Yves Daccord, 7 December 2016
- ^ The Changing Humanitarian Landscape: Obstacles & Opportunities, ODI lecture, 6 December 2012
- ^ WHO Advisory Group members
- ^ University of St. Gallen: events, 20 May 2017