UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNHCR goodwill ambassadors are celebrity representatives of the United Nations [High Commissioner for Refugees|Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)] who use their talent and fame to advocate for refugees.

Current UNHCR goodwill ambassadors

Current goodwill ambassadors and the year they were appointed:

Time

Ambassador

Country

Profession

2025

Lebanon

Other positions

Barbara Hendricks became a Goodwill Ambassador in 1987. She became the first Honorary Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador in 2002, the only person to hold this title.
Angelina Jolie became a Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. In 2012, she was appointed the Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Past ambassadors