Roger Winter, a dedicated proponent for the people of South Sudan and the region, died on January 25, 2023.

Born on July 13, 1942, he spent most his life working on refugee emergencies around the world. As Executive Director from 1981 to 2001 of the U.S. Committee for Refugees, a Washington-DC-based non-government organization, he traveled to more than 20 countries.

In 2001, he was named director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the unit within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that directs the U.S. government's response to disasters overseas. From 2002 to 2005, he headed the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Response at USAID. [READ: Congressional Testimony on Sudan July 2002].

In 2005, he was appointed by the State Department as Special Representative for Sudan. After leaving the post in August 2006, he continued to be deeply engaged. The author of a 2008 New York Times Magazine profile, The Man for a New Sudan, Eliza Griswold, chronicled Winter's "total commitment to the people of South Sudan" and spoke of his "legendary" stamina in pursuit of that goal.

After retirement, Winter maintained his involvement, writing articles and providing testimony and was present in 2011 when South Sudan became an independent country. He continued his advocacy for peace and justice and, in 2013, Winter joined with longtime American supporters of South Sudan - Eric Reeves, John Prendergast and Ted Dagne - in a letter to South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit expressing alarm "about the increasingly perilous fate of South Sudan" and calling for "significant changes and reform." At the same time, Winter maintained to the people and the leaders. And in 2021, President Salva Kiir named him an Honorary Citizen of the Republic of South Sudan.

An outpouring of tributes from "citizens and leaders" across South Sudan followed news of his death, Eye Radio reported.