The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday announced the appointment of U.S. actress Angelina Jolie as the Special Envoy of High Commissioner Antonio Guterres.

Jolie was the UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador for the last 10 years, during which she conducted over 40 field visits to areas of refugee displacement around the world.

The UNHCR said Jolie's new role is expected to focus on large-scale crises resulting in the mass displacement of people.

She will engage with relevant interlocutors on global displacement issue and represent the UNHCR and the High Commissioner at the diplomatic level, the agency said.