François Preziosi

Francois Preziosi (1921/1922 to 1964) was a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees official who was killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by rebel forces in the midst of the Congo Crisis. He was posthumously awarded the Nansen Refugee Award in 1964.

Career From 1951 to 1956 Preziosi was the Social Affairs Adviser with the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency.

In 1964, he was stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on development projects to support Tutsi refugees. International Labour Organization colleague Jean Plicque volunteered to join the trip just before departure. Preziosi was on a mission to discourage Tutsi refugees from collaborating with Congolese rebels, in the hope of improving their treatment from local authorities.

Family life Preziosi was married. His wife had been evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Bujumbura in Burundi just before his death. which were found with wedding rings on their fingers.