On 27 March 2024, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the appointment of Kamal Kishore as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

Kamal Kishore is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Mr. Kishore brings to this position nearly three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action and sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels, having worked in government, the United Nations and civil society organizations.

Prior to joining UNDRR, Mr. Kishore was the Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority of India, where he led the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction and contributed to the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

Mr. Kishore spent nearly thirteen years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, Geneva, and New Delhi where he contributed to advancing policy and supported post-disaster recovery in Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

Prior to UNDP, he served as Director of Information and Research, and Manager of Extreme Climate Events Programme at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok (1996-2002), covering Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam and as an Architect at the Action Research Unit for Development (1992-1994) in New Delhi where he worked on post-earthquake reconstruction projects.