UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. UNHCR goodwill ambassadors are

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in spor ...

representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who use their talent and fame to advocate for

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

Current UNHCR goodwill ambassadors

Current goodwill ambassadors and the year they were appointed:

Other positions

Barbara Hendricks Barbara Hendricks (born November 20, 1948) is an American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland in Basel since 1985. She is a citizen of Sweden following her marriage to a Swedish c ...

became a Goodwill Ambassador in 1987. She became the firs
Honorary Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador
in 2002, the only person to hold this title. *

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

became a Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. In 2012 she was appointed th
Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Past ambassadors

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), professionally known as Kris Aquino (), is a Filipino television host, actress, producer, socialite and businesswoman. Dubbed as Philippine's "Queen of All Media", Aquino has hos ...

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

Đorđe Balašević Đorđe Balašević ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Балашевић; 11 May 1953 – 19 February 2021) was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer and songwriter, writer, poet and director. He began his career in the late 1970s as a member of the band Rani Mraz, ...

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

* Nazia Hassan * Justus Frantz * Udo Jürgens * Lady Antebellum *

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (born 22 September 1971) is a member of the Norwegian royal family, a businesswoman and a self-described clairvoyant. The only daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, she is fourth in the line of success ...

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

Arja Saijonmaa Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa (born 1 December 1944 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress. Life and career She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University. She mad ...

* The Schürzenjäger *

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports *Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City *Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...

Duraid Lahham Duraid Lahham ( ar, دريد لحام; in Roman transliteration, sometimes spelled "Durayd Lahham") is a leading Demographics of Syria, Syrian comedian and director born 1934 in Damascus, Syria. He is famous for acting the role of "Ghawwar El Tosh ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors
United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees Goodwill ambassador programmes United Nations goodwill ambassadors

Current UNHCR goodwill ambassadors

Other positions

Past ambassadors

See also

References

External links