Jagan Chapagain is the Secretary General of the IFRC. He took up this role on 1 February 2020 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr Chapagain has extensive experience and a broad knowledge of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, having begun his career as a youth volunteer at the Nepal Red Cross, advocating for and representing community voices.
He has spent more than 20 years with IFRC, working across Europe and Asia. Prior to becoming Secretary General, Mr Chapagain was the Under Secretary General for Programmes and Operations, Chief of Staff and Director of the Asia Pacific region where he provided leadership in responding to large-scale humanitarian crises and in building resilient communities in partnership with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and external partners across the region.
Previously, he held various leadership positions including Deputy Head of Zone and Head of Operations for the Asia Pacific region from 2007 to 2011, Head of Regional Delegation for Central Asia from 2006 to 2007 and Senior Regional Officer for South Asia from 2004 to 2006 in Geneva. In previous missions, he worked in IFRC delegations in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Montenegro and Thailand.
Mr Chapagain holds a degree in Engineering and certificates in Leadership and turn-around management and Emerging social sector leadership. A national of Nepal, he is fluent in Nepalese, English and Hindi and has a basic knowledge of Urdu and Russian.
