Guterres Names Barham Salih Provisional U.N. Refugee Commissioner

A signed letter dated December 11, 2025 and circulated publicly on December 12 shows U.N. Secretary General António Guterres has provisionally named Barham Salih as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The recommendation, addressed to Ambassador Atsuyuki Oike, Japan’s top diplomat in Geneva and chair of UNHCR’s Executive Committee, proposes a five year term beginning January 1, 2026 and running through the end of 2030.

Copies of the letter were widely shared on social media and provided to news organizations. Diplomatic officials in Geneva who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said the letter is authentic. The appointment is explicitly provisional and must be approved first by the Executive Committee in Geneva and then by the U.N. General Assembly in New York before it takes effect.

Alessandra Vellucci, the U.N. director of information services in Geneva and spokesperson for the U.N. office there, told reporters that “the process is ongoing” and that “once it’s finished, there will be an official announcement made by the United Nations.” U.N. officials and reporting indicate Secretary General Guterres plans to propose Salih’s election to the General Assembly at the end of 2025, after the Executive Committee has reviewed the recommendation.

If confirmed, Salih would replace Italy’s Filippo Grandi, a veteran U.N. official who has led UNHCR since January 1, 2016 and whose current mandate concludes at year end 2025. The selection would mark a shift from recent practice of appointing agency heads from major donor countries, and Salih would be the first High Commissioner from the Middle East in roughly half a century according to reporting accompanying the letter.

The profile in the document and subsequent reports identifies Salih as a 65 year old former president of Iraq, a British educated engineer from Iraq’s Kurdish region. His nomination comes as UNHCR confronts a dramatically expanded workload. Global displacement levels are at record highs, with some accounts noting they are roughly double what they were when Grandi took office in 2016. Humanitarian operations face mounting funding gaps, heightened geopolitical tensions and complex protection challenges that cut across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

The provisional appointment underscores the political nature of senior U.N. selections and the procedural steps that remain. The Executive Committee in Geneva will assess the Secretary General’s recommendation and the General Assembly will render the final decision. Journalists and diplomats in Geneva are seeking confirmation of the Executive Committee’s meeting schedule and any formal submission to the General Assembly, along with comment from UNHCR, Barham Salih’s representatives and Filippo Grandi’s office on transition arrangements.

The timing of a confirmed appointment will shape UNHCR’s leadership as agencies worldwide prepare budgets and operations for 2026 amid persistent displacement and funding uncertainty.