9 March 2015: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Stephen O’Brien as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

A member of the UK Parliament, O’Brien has worked to fight malaria and other tropical diseases, including as Global Advocate for the UN/World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Roll Back Malaria Partnership,’ and has contributed to the UK’s efforts to contribute 0.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to official development assistance (ODA), according to the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

O’Brien succeeds Valerie Amos in the position. Amos announced her resignation on 26 November, which she said would be effective 31 March 2015. Her announcement was followed by calls for an open, transparent and competitive process to select her successor. [UN Press Release] [Biographical Note] [IISD RS Story on Amos Resignation] [OCHA Website]