Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1948, Vieira de Mello joined the United Nations in 1969 while studying philosophy and humanities at the University of Paris (Panthéon-Sorbonne). He spent the majority of his career working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, and served in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Bangladesh, Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique and Peru.

In 1981, Vieira de Mello assumed his first high-profile position, when he was appointed the Senior Political Adviser to UN forces in Lebanon. Thereafter, he occupied several important functions at UNHCR's Headquarters from 1983 to 1991 (chef de cabinet of the High Commissioner; director, Regional Bureau for Asia and Oceania; and director, Division of External Relations). Between 1991 and 1996, he served as special envoy of the High Commissioner for Cambodia, director of repatriation for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), head of civil affairs of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia, and United Nations regional humanitarian coordinator for the Great Lakes Region of Africa. In 1996 he was appointed United Nations assistant high commissioner for refugees before being posted to New York in January 1998 as under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. Vieira de Mello briefly held the position of special representative of the secretary-general in Kosovo and also served as United Nations transitional administrator in East Timor. On September 12, 2002 he was appointed United Nations high commissioner for human rights. In May of 2003, he was asked by the secretary-general to take a four-month leave of absence from his position as high commissioner to serve in Iraq as special representative of the secretary-general. It was there that he was tragically killed on August 19, 2003.

"Sergio," as he was known by the scores of government officials, UN staff members and others who considered him a good friend, was a remarkably effective international civil servant. As a result, he was asked by the United Nations to tackle some of the world's most complicated humanitarian and peacekeeping challenges. His track record of success was extraordinary, whether it was fashioning a refugee protection and resettlement scheme for Vietnamese refugees, overseeing the repatriation of 300,000 Cambodian refugees from Thailand, setting up a UN civil administration in Kosovo, or managing the political transition in East Timor. His assets included extraordinary intelligence and good judgment, graciousness and wit, and a profound dedication to the humanitarian principles that inform the UN Charter. He was the obvious choice to lead the UN effort in Iraq, to which he has given his life. His friends and colleagues at the United Nations and elsewhere will best honor his memory by persevering in the humanitarian and human rights work to which Sergio was so committed.

Sergio Vieira de Mello: The Legacy of a Brazilian Hero

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Sergio Vieira de Mello

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