Krähenbühl to return to the Red Cross

Born in Geneva in 1966, Pierre Krähenbühl started at the ICRC in 1991 and served as its director of operations from 2002-2014. © Ti-press

Pierre Krähenbühl, the former commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), is taking on a new role with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Krähenbühl is to become ICRC President Peter Maurer’s special envoy to China as well as head of the regional delegation, which includes China and the Korean Peninsula. The Chinese foreign ministry has yet to confirm the post, which is to be occupied in the coming weeks.

Originally from Geneva, Krähenbühl was head of operations at the ICRC before moving to the UN. However, he resigned from the UNWRA in November 2019 after a leaked internal report cast a bad light on the leadership there. After six years as commissioner general, Krähenbühl found himself in the international headlines after becoming embroiled in a scandal involving accusations of nepotism, abuse of authority and an affair with an employee.

A UN enquiry was launched, but its results were not published. Krähenbühl was later exonerated of all charges, including fraud and misappropriation of funds. There is a petition calling on the Swiss government to press for the findings of the UN investigation to be made public.