Harold Masterson: Harold Masterson, who has died aged 58, had a hard-won reputation as a mentor to young aid workers, drawing on his own experience in many of the world's most troubled places.
The most senior Irish figure in the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), he died in Geneva, where he had developed training for delegates and staff of over 50 nationalities.
An expert on disaster assessment, Masterson was often among the first international aid workers to arrive at major emergencies.
A champion of people living with HIV/Aids, as he himself did, he was part of the IFRC's internal advocacy group on the issue. The group brought about a major change in the public stance of the federation.
Born in Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh, he was educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen; Queen's University Belfast, where he received an honours degree in social and economic geography; and the London School of Economics, where he did an MSc on "population distribution and interaction in South Africa".
He was a teacher and deputy headmaster for three years at Luwingu secondary school, Northern Province, Zambia, and then studied linguistics at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He was fluent in Danish, which he spoke with his wife Kirsten and their triplet daughters. In the triplets' early years he stayed at home to help look after them.
He joined the IFRC in 1981 and in 1987 was appointed head of the field personnel department. In the five years he ran the department, delegate numbers grew from 184 to 523 in 68 delegations around the world.
His critical analysis of change inside the federation did not endear him to senior management, but he was much loved by staff. On the afternoon of his death, the entire Geneva secretariat gathered to pay him tribute.
Denis McClean, who founded the Geneva Literary Aid Society earlier this year to bring Irish culture to the stage there and raise funds for the care and treatment of people living with HIV/Aids, said that without Masterson's enthusiasm the venture would never have taken off.
Dr Seán Deely from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, an expert on aid and conflict working with the UN development programme in Nepal, said: "It's hard to find the words to say how much Harold meant to all of us who started our careers under his tutelage.
"He was the conscience of the international federation. He is a huge loss to the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement."
He is survived by his wife Kirsten and their daughters Karen, Louise, Marianne, granddaughter Celia, and foster daughter Kiki. He is also survived by his daughter Ciara by his first marriage and grandson Conor.
Harold Masterson, born 1946, died August 11th, 2005