United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Mami Mizutori of Japan as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Ms. Mizutori will succeed Robert Glasser of Australia to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and excellent leadership of UNISDR. 

Ms. Mizutori brings to the position a combination of management and leadership expertise as well as more than twenty-five years of experience in international affairs and security. She is currently Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia, UK since 2011. Prior to joining the Institute, she served for twenty-seven years in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in various capacities, including as Budget Director, Director of the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) at the Embassy of Japan in London, Director of the National Security Policy Division, Director of the United Nations Policy Division, Director of the Status of US Forces Agreement Division, and Deputy Director of the Personnel Division. She has worked in London, Washington D.C., and Mexico City. She has taught courses on governance in East Asia at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and international studies at Waseda University, Tokyo.

Ms. Mizutori graduated in law from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and obtained a Diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain. Born in 1960, Ms. Mizutori is married.