Germany puts forward candidate to succeed Grandi as UN refugee chief

Germany plans to nominate foreign affairs and development veteran Niels Annen for the post of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, sources close to the government told AFP on Monday.

The post, one of the most important in the United Nations due to the growing number of refugees in the world, has been held by Italian Filippo Grandi since January 2016.

Grandi has been elected three times by the UN General Assembly and his current term ends in December 2025.

Annen, 51, a former MP who hails from Hamburg and an expert in foreign and development policy, is considered close to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a fellow Social Democrat.

Annen currently serves as parliamentary state secretary to the minister for economic cooperation and development and previously acted as state secretary in the foreign ministry.

The UNHCR has more than 20,000 staff in 143 countries, according to its website.

Its budget this year was estimated at just under $11 billion. Germany is the second largest contributor after the United States.

The UN Refugee Agency has had eleven High Commissioners since its creation in 1950.