Biographical Note

Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom (Sweden) took up the post of Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in September 2004, with the Secretary-General’s appointment.

Until June 2004, Margareta served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). There she was in charge of relief, reconstruction and development.

Prior to that, she held numerous senior positions with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. As Under Secretary-General for the Response and Operations Coordination Division, she was responsible for providing operational and strategic direction for 8 departments with some 100 employees in Geneva and approximately 350 international and 2000 national staff members in the field. She also led the Federation’s response to the Great Lakes crisis.

Her previous experience with OCHA includes an evaluation she conducted of OCHA’s response to the Gujarat floods and a study she completed for OCHA on lessons learned in Timor-Leste.

Ms. Wahlstrom holds a degree in economic history, social anthropology and political science.

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Source: OCHA News, Issue No. 150 (13 August 2004)