Bruno Geddo

Background

After completing his degree in law and international politics in Milan in 1988, Geddo began his career as a Protection Officer in Sudan, first in Gedaref and then in Khartoum. Between 1991 and 1993, he was posted to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he oversaw the repatriation of South African refugees who had fled the apartheid regime. He then returned to UNHCR Headquarters, Geneva where he served as Senior Legal Advisor to the Africa Bureau.

From 1997 to 2001, Geddo was Assistant Regional Representative (Protection) in Pretoria, South Africa with responsibility for refugee issues across southern Africa. He spent the subsequent four years back in Geneva as Head of the Legal Advice Unit, Africa Bureau, before being appointed UNHCR Representative in Central African Republic from 2005 to 2008. There he oversaw the repatriation of Chadian and Sudanese refugees, among others. Geddo then undertook a number of special missions in Darfur, South Africa (Zimbabwean refugees) and Dadaab, Kenya. He became Representative for Somalia in 2009, based in Nairobi, and between 2011 and 2012 managed the UNHCR emergency response to the famine in Somalia, the worst since 1992. In 2013, Geddo moved on to Yemen as UNHCR Representative a.i. to deal with multiple refugee and internal displacement situations. He also deals with the continuing mixed migration crisis from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries for which Yemen is the pivotal transit hub. Geddo was later appointed as UNHCR Representative to Mauritania (2014 - 2015) where he dealt with Tuareg refugees from Mali. From mid-2015 to date, Geddo has been Representative to Iraq, leading the UNHCR humanitarian emergency preparedness and response to the Mosul crisis.