Ms. Wahlström was appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction in November 2008.
Ms. Wahlström has over 30 years of extensive national and international experience in humanitarian relief operations in disaster and conflict areas, and in institution-building to strengthen national capacity for disaster preparedness, response and for risk reduction.
Previous appointments include:
- Member and Coordinator of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises, Chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, 2008
- Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator and Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2004-2008
- United Nations Special Coordinator for the Assistance to the Tsunami-Affected Communities, 2004-2005
- Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery and Rehabilitation, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2003-2004
- Under-Secretary-General for Disaster Response and Operations and Deputy Director Operations, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1995-2000.
Geneva, Switzerland,
December 2010