Filippo Grandi was born in Milan, Italy in 1957. He has been engaged in international cooperation for 33 years, primarily with the United Nations. He has served in field operations in many of the major refugee and humanitarian crises of the last three decades. As United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he heads the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leading the international response to refugee crises around the world, working with governments to ensure that refugees have access to protection and support, and helping find solutions to displacement and statelessness.