Nigel Fisher

Nigel Fisher joined UNICEF Canada as President and CEO on November 1, 2005. Prior to his appointment as president and CEO of UNICEF Canada, Mr. Fisher had served, since early 2002, in the capacity of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, first as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction in Afghanistan and, most recently, as Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services.

Earlier, Mr. Fisher worked with UNICEF for over 20 years in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as at UNICEF headquarters in New York. He led UNICEF’s emergency operations in the Great Lakes region of Africa after the Rwandan genocide, in the Middle East during and after the Gulf War, and in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries after September 11, 2001. At other times in his career, he was Regional Director for South Asia, Director of UNICEF’s global emergency operations, and UNICEF Representative in a number of countries.

As a United Nations Visiting Fellow in 1998, he advised the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the development of Canadian foreign policy regarding children in armed conflict. That year, Canada awarded Mr. Fisher the Meritorious Service Cross in recognition of his leadership of UNICEF's humanitarian work in Rwanda.

Mr. Fisher has published on children’s issues and has served on the boards of several academic and philanthropic institutions internationally. His first international experience was as a CUSO volunteer teacher in Nigeria. He subsequently worked for the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa before joining UNICEF.