It is with great sadness that we share the news that Sandy Buchan, former Chief Executive of Refugee Action for 17 years, has passed away. He was 71.

Sandy Buchan led Refugee Action from 1993 to 2010. He will be remembered as a courageous and generous man, who devoted his life to the wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

He was valued by the UK’s Vietnamese refugee communities for ensuring that Refugee Action remained committed to the long term work of supporting Vietnamese people to integrate across the UK, while also developing the charity to work with refugees from all backgrounds. He pioneered innovative approaches to resettlement during the Bosnia and Kosovan refugee programmes, and ensured Refuge Action remained entirely true to its values at all times. He was also fundamental in designing programmes to ensure that people could consider returning to their countries of origin, should they choose to do so – this went on to form the foundations of Refugee Action’s Choices service.

He was passionate that Refugee Action acted solely in the best interests of the people we support. Above all he will be remembered as an inspiration to many generations of Refugee Action’s clients, staff and volunteers – his values and dedication live on through the thousands of people he worked with and for.