James N. Purcell Jr.

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James N. Purcell Jr. (born 1938), author of the book "We're in Danger! Who Will Help Us?: Refugees and Migrants-A Test of Civilization" about the U.S. refugee-assistance and policy history from the Fall of Saigon to Syria. Currently board chair USA for IOM. He was United StatesDirector of the Bureau of Refugee Programs from 1983 to 1986, a bureau whose design and implementation he was charged to create in 1979. where he stayed until the appointment as Director of the State Department Refugee Programs. In 1988, he became Director General of the International Organization for Migration, an office he held for two terms-1988 to 1998.

Biography[]

Purcell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1938 and raised in Tennessee and Florida. He was educated at Furman University and was awarded a fellowship to Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he earned the M.P.A.

Purcell worked in public affairs for his entire career, serving in every presidential administration from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. After serving in the Office of Management and Budget, he moved to the United States Department of State in 1978. There, he worked on U.S. refugee and immigration policy related to the Indochinese refugees, as well as refugees related to other humanitarian disasters.

In 1983, President of the United States Ronald Reagan nominated Purcell as Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs, and he held this office from June 12, 1983, to September 28, 1986.

In 1988, Purcell became Director General of the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, a post he held until 1998. Among awards he received while at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were The Order of the Phoenix (Greece) and Wings of Hope (USAIM).

Since 1998, he has worked as an adviser for foreign governments dealing with refugee crises.

References[]

• Profile from Council for a Community of Democracies
• Open Library Profile
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