UN appoints former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as new humanitarian chief

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the U.N.’s new humanitarian chief. Fletcher, who is currently principal of Hertford College, Oxford and vice chair of Oxford University’s Conference of Colleges, succeeds fellow Briton Martin Griffiths who stepped down for health reasons as undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs at the end of June. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, who announced the appointment Wednesday, said acting U.N. humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya will remain in the job until Fletcher takes over at a future date.