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{{Short description|President of the International Committee of the Red Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the Pentagon on April 17, 2024 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Spoljaric Egger (2024)
| name = Mirjana Spoljaric Egger
| office = President of [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]
| term_start = October 2022
| predecessor = [[Peter Maurer]]
| appointer = the Assembly of the [[ICRC]]
| vicepresident = [[Gilles Carbonnier]]
| citizenship = [[Switzerland]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Basel]]<br/>[[University of Geneva]]
| office1 = [[United Nations Assistant Secretary-General]]
| termstart1 = August 2018
| termend1 = September 2022
| appointer1 = [[António Guterres]]
| successor1 = [[Ivana Živković]]
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1972}}
| birth_place = [[Ludbreg]], [[Socialist Republic of Croatia|SR Croatia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]<ref name="JL">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/svijet/nevjerojatna-prica-zene-iz-ludbrega-koja-je-iscupala-taokinje-iz-ruku-hamasa-ovo-nam-je-dalo-tracak-nade-15386927|title=Nevjerojatna priča žene iz Ludbrega koja je iščupala taokinje iz ruku Hamasa: ‘Ovo nam je dalo tračak nade...‘|date=2023-10-23|access-date=2024-05-14|website=[[Jutarnji list]]|last=Trkanjec|first=Željko|lang=hr}}</ref>
}}

'''Mirjana Spoljaric Egger''' ({{langx|hr|Špoljarić}};<ref name="JL" /> {{IPA|hr|ʃpɔʎarit͡ɕ}}; born 1972) is a [[Croats of Switzerland|Swiss-Croatian]] [[diplomat]]. Since October 2022, she has served as the President of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|date=2021-11-25|title=ICRC elects new president|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/ICRC-elects-new-president|access-date=2021-11-29|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|language=en}}</ref>

== Education ==
Egger studied philosophy, economics and international law at the [[University of Basel]] and the [[University of Geneva]]. She finished her studies with a master's degree. She then worked as a research assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Basel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Monnier |first=Philippe |date=2023-09-28 |title=Luncheon with Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |url=https://www.wharton.ch/luncheon_with_icrc_president |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Wharton Alumni Club of Switzerland |language=en}}</ref>
On January 23, 2026, Egger was awarded with an honorary doctorate by Maastricht University during the university's 50th Dies Natalis celebration<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-01-26 |title=Three honorary doctorates for international impact and societal relevance - News - Maastricht University |url=https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/three-honorary-doctorates-international-impact-and-societal-relevance |access-date=2026-01-28 |website=www.maastrichtuniversity.nl |language=en}}</ref>.

== Career ==
=== Swiss Government ===
In 2000, she joined the [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs]], where she held various positions, including in [[Bern]] and [[New York City|New York]]. From 2004 to 2006, she taught on [[global governance]] in the Department of Sociology at the [[University of Lucerne]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=2017-06-28|title=Mirjana Spoljaric|url=https://en.unesco.org/mobilising-unesco-chairs-natural-sciences-policy-action-towards-2030-agenda/mirjana-spoljaric|access-date=2021-11-29|website=UNESCO|language=en}}</ref>

She initially worked at the Swiss Embassy in Cairo and was desk officer for the [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] and Nuclear Safety in Central and Eastern Europe.

=== United Nations ===
From 2010 to 2012, Egger was posted to Amman as a senior adviser at the office of the UN Commissioner General for [[UNRWA|the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees and Refugees]] (UNRWA).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Mirjana Spoljaric Egger |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/person/mirjana-spoljaric |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Farge |first=Emma |date=2022-12-14 |title=Red Cross chief: major prisoner swap deal is option in Russia-Ukraine war |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/red-cross-chief-major-prisoner-swap-deal-is-option-russia-ukraine-war-2022-12-14/ |access-date=2023-09-28}}</ref>

From 2012, she was ambassador, head of the Division of United Nations and International Organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger of Switzerland - Assistant Administrator, Director of Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) {{!}} United Nations Secretary-General |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/personnel-appointments/2018-08-17/ms-mirjana-spoljaric-egger-switzerland-assistant |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=[[United Nations]]}}</ref> She represented Switzerland in the negotiations on the UN reforms and the UN budget, in the Security Council, in the General Assembly, in the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|Economic and Social Council of the United Nations]], in the Commission for Peace Consolidation, in the Human Rights Council and in the UN Office for Drugs and Crime.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-01 |title=Security Council Report June 2023 |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/2023_06_forecast.pdf |website=Security Council Report}}</ref>

From August 2018, Spoljaric served as the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS. Those positions were succeeded by [[Ivana Živković]] from [[Croatia]] in September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-12 |title=Mirjana Spoljaric Egger |url=https://live.worldbank.org/experts/mirjana-spoljaric-egger |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=live.worldbank.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) {{!}} United Nations Secretary-General |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/ivana-%C5%BEivkovi%C4%87 |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=www.un.org}}</ref>

=== International Committee of the Red Cross ===
In November 2021, the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross elected Spoljaric Egger as President of the Committee with effect from 1 October 2022 in place of [[Peter Maurer]]. She is the first woman in this office.<ref name="auto"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.icrc.org/en/person/mirjana-spoljaric Profile on the ICRC Website]

{{Portal bar|Switzerland|Biography}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoljaric Egger, Mirjana}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Red Cross personnel]]
[[Category:Diplomats for Switzerland]]
[[Category:University of Basel alumni]]
[[Category:University of Geneva alumni]]
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:People from Ludbreg]]
[[Category:Croatian emigrants to Switzerland]]
[[Category:Swiss people of Croatian descent]]

Mirjana Spoljaric Egger - Revision history

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