Filippo Grandi leads the international response to refugee crises around the world, working with governments to make sure refugees have access to protection and support.

Previously, he was Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. He has focused on refugee and humanitarian work throughout his career. He has worked with NGOs and the UNHCR in many locations around the world.

At the start of his career at the UNHCR in 1988, he served in Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq after the first Gulf War. He was a field coordinator for UNHCR and UN humanitarian activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the civil war.