Above: Bekele Geleta will soon head to Geneva to take over
as secretary general of the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

From refugee to Red Cross boss (The Ottawa Citizen)

Louisa Taylor

Published: Friday, May 23, 2008

The new head of the world’s largest humanitarian organization is a former Ethiopian political prisoner who made a new life for himself in Ottawa after arriving as a refugee in 1992.

Bekele Geleta’s appointment as the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was announced in Geneva late Wednesday.

The position, which carries a term of three to five years, means Geleta will oversee the Red Cross secretariat of more than 500 people, including staff in Geneva and on missions and delegations around the world. The secretariat co-ordinates the relief efforts of the federation’s 186 member Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

Geleta, 64, is currently the general manager of international operations for the Canadian Red Cross. He spent five years in prison in Ethiopia, and later served as a cabinet minister and the Ethiopian ambassador to Japan.

Geleta came to Canada as a refugee in 1992, settling in Ottawa with his wife, Tsehay Mulugeta, and four young sons. He soon started building a new career in humanitarian work, serving with Care Canada, the Red Cross and other organizations. Read More.