John Holmes
Under-Secretary-General, Humanitarian Affairs, UN
On 3 January 2007, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Sir John Holmes of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. John Holmes was previously the British Ambassador in Paris, a post he has held since October 2001. John Holmes was born in Preston, in the North of England, in 1951, and educated at Preston Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford. He married Penelope Morris in 1976 and they have three daughters.