Robert Glasser is the former special representative of the secretary-general for disaster risk reduction, and head of the

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

UNISDR
.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n national Glasser was nominated in November 2015 by

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

to succeed

Margareta Wahlström Margareta Wahlström (born 30 March 1950) is a Swedish diplomat and social scientist who has held leading positions in the Red Cross and the United Nations. Specializing in disaster relief, from 2008 to 2015 she served as UN Assistant Secretary-Ge ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, who was the first such special representative and had been appointed in November 2008. Glasser took up his post in January 2016. He wa
succeeded
on 1 March 2018 by Mami Mizutori. The functions of the special representative include leading and overseeing UNISDR in the executions of its functions entrusted by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

and the Hyogo Framework for Action and its successor the

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) is an international document that was adopted by the United Nations (UN) member states between 14 and 18 March 2015 at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Ja ...

, as well as policy directions by the secretary-general, overseeing the management of the Trust Fund for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, and carrying out high-level advocacy and resource mobilization activities for risk reduction and implementation. The special representative is also responsible for ensuring the strategic and operational coherence between disaster-reduction and humanitarian disaster preparedness and response activities, as well as socio-economic activities of the UN system and regional organizations. Prior to joining the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Glasser had from 2008 served as Secretary General of

CARE (relief agency) CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded i ...

, one of the world’s largest non-governmental humanitarian organizations, active in over 80 countries. From 2003 to 2007, he was the chief executive of

CARE Australia CARE Australia is an Australian, not-for-profit, secular humanitarian aid agency assisting in disaster relief efforts and addressing the causes of global poverty in developing countries. It is one of a confederation of 12 national members of CARE ...

, overseeing aid and humanitarian relief programmes in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Viet Nam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous coun ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Before joining CARE, he was assistant director general at the

Australian Agency for International Development Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...

. Glasser has also been a member of the board of the Global Call for Climate Action, and was the inaugural board chairman of the CHS International Alliance, a new organization resulting from the June 2015 merger of

People In Aid People In Aid was an international, not-for-profit membership organisation with offices in the UK, Australia and East Africa. People In Aid no longer exists following its merger with HAP International on 9 June 2015 to form the CHS Alliance. Peo ...

and

Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International (HAP International), established in 2003, was the humanitarian sector's first international self-regulatory body. A multi-agency initiative working to improve the accountability of humanitari ...

. He has also served as a fellow of the

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Departmen ...

. Born in 1959, Glasser holds a PhD in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

(

strategic studies Strategic studies is an interdisciplinary academic field centered on the study of peace and conflict strategies, often devoting special attention to the relationship between military history, international politics, geostrategy, international ...

) from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. He is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasser, Robert Australian officials of the United Nations Living people 1959 births