Robert Mardini is Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a position he assumed in March 2020. As head of the ICRC’s directorate, he is responsible for leading global humanitarian operations with 20,000 staff in more than 100 countries, and a budget of approximately USD 2 billion.

Prior to this, Robert served as the Permanent Observer and Head of Delegation of the ICRC to the United Nations in New York, the ICRC’s Regional Director for the Near & Middle East, ICRC’s Deputy Director-General, and Head of the ICRC Water & Habitat Unit.

A civil engineer by training, Robert began his career as a research assistant at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, before holding field positions as water engineer and programme coordinator in Rwanda and Iraq. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and hydraulics from the EPFL.