Peter Hansen of Denmark was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs/Emergency Relief Coordinator in March 1994.

During Hansen’s UN tenure, he served as Chairman of the Organization’s Appointment and Promotion Board and various committees and as the Secretary-General’s representative to the World Food Programme. Mr. Hansen undertook official missions to the area of operations of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, on a number of occasions, at the request of the Secretary-General, to assist in the establishment of the Office of the Special Coordinator. He also served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee established to follow up the Washington Conference in support of the Middle East peace process.

After leaving OCHA, Mr. Hansen was appointed Commissioner-General of UNRWA by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on 20 January 1996.  He retired on 31 March 2005.   

Mr. Hansen joined the United Nations in 1978 as Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning and Coordination. Between 1985 and 1992, he served as Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations. He was Executive Director of the Commission on Global Governance, Geneva 1992-1994.

Hansen completed graduate and postgraduate studies in political science at Aarhus University in 1966, he joined the staff of the University as an Assistant Professor in International Relations.  While continuing his academic career, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University and later as professor of Politics at Odense University.   Mr. Hansen also served as an advisor to the Foreign Ministry of Denmark and as Chairman of the United Nations Committee for Programme and Coordination.

Mr. Hansen is the author of several books and numerous articles in scholarly journals.

He is married with three children.