Damtew Dessalegne

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative Tel: (37410) 58 48 92 Fax: (37410) 54 59 35 E-mail: armye@unhcr.org

Mr. Damtew Dessalegne took up his position as the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Armenia on 1 July 2010. His mot recent assignment was with the UNHCR Regional Office in Rome as Deputy Regional Representative for Southern Europe.

Mr. Dessalegne started his UNHCR career in 1993 as a Legal Adviser in the Division of International Protection at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. He was later appointed to head the UNHCR Liaison Office in Romania from 1994-1998. From 1998 to 2002, he was Senior Policy Officer based in Geneva. He was then reassigned to Egypt, where he served as Deputy Regional Representative from 2003-2006.

Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Dessalegne worked for many years with the Canadian government in the refugee protection field. Mr. Dessalegne is a Canadian citizen. He is married and has two children. He speaks Amharic, English and Romanian, and has a good understanding of French. He holds an M.Sc. in economic planning and management.