Head of India’s Disaster Management Authority appointed as UN Assistant Secretary-General

Kamal Kishore, the head of India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has been appointed as the UN Assistant Secretary-General with the disaster risk reduction portfolio. He brings three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action, and sustainable development at various levels.

The announcement was made by Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday. Kishore will also serve as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, heading the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), succeeding Mami Mizutori of Japan.

Being part of India’s Group of 20 (G20) presidency, Kishore led the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction and contributed to the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. This was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Climate Action Summit in 2019.

Kishore, who holds the rank of secretary to the government, joined NDMA in 2015. The UNDRR mission is to accelerate global efforts in disaster risk reduction to achieve inclusive sustainable development and prevent disaster risks from threatening humanity and the planet.

Kishore, an architect by profession, has a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee and a master’s in urban planning from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. He will be joining other Indians in the senior management group at the UN, contributing his vast experience in disaster management and risk reduction.