Secretary-General Appoints Samer Abdeljaber of Jordan United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Samer Abdeljaber of Jordan as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Yemen, with the host Government’s approval. He started his assignment on 1 November and will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.
Mr. Abdeljaber brings over 20 years of leadership experience in humanitarian action and emergency response, including extensive work in humanitarian coordination, partnership-building and the delivery of assistance in complex and crisis-affected settings. Most recently, he served as Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at the World Food Programme (WFP), having previously served as Director of the Office of the Deputy Executive Director and Director of Emergencies at WFP Headquarters. From 2021 to 2024, he was WFP Representative and Country Director in Palestine, leading operations in a highly complex political and humanitarian context. From October 2023 to February 2024, he also served as Emergency Coordinator for the Gaza response, leading WFP’s emergency operations during a particularly complex period. In this capacity, he served several times as Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim and led United Nations negotiations to facilitate humanitarian access into Gaza. Previously, he served as WFP Country Director in Libya, overseeing country operations with a focus on strengthening national systems and humanitarian coordination.
Earlier in his career, he held several leadership positions across WFP operations in Jordan, Iraq, Sudan and Egypt, as well as at United Nations Headquarters. His roles included Chief of Digital Solutions Delivery and Deputy Country Director in Egypt, where he strengthened partnerships with United Nations agencies and donors while overseeing WFP’s Syria emergency response from Egypt.
Mr. Abdeljaber holds a degree in computer science from Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan.
He is married and has two children.