Robert Mardini is Regional Director for the Near & Middle East at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in Geneva, Switzerland.

In this capacity, he oversees and provides strategic guidance for the ICRC’s humanitarian operations across nine delegations in the Near and Middle East, with a special focus on the Syrian armed conflict and its regional consequences. The conflicts affecting the region (from Syria to Iraq and including Yemen, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory) account for 30 percent of the ICRC’s overall budget and 20 percent of its human capital in 2016.

He began his career as a research assistant at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL Lausanne) before holding field positions as water engineer and program coordinator in Rwanda and Iraq. He led the ICRC Water & Habitat unit which supervises the work of some 400 engineers and technicians running water, sanitation, hygiene and construction projects in over 40 countries.

He obtained a Masters of Civil Engineering & Hydraulic Constructions at the EPFL.

Robert Mardini was a panellist at the concluding discussion of the 15th International Architectural Biennale, “Sustainability vs Security”, on November 25, 2016. The panel discussed how growing security concerns add complexity to the challenges to which architecture must respond.