diff --git a/src/libstrongswan/utils.h b/src/libstrongswan/utils.h
index 3f8ffc6d4..ebc67db00 100644
--- a/src/libstrongswan/utils.h
+++ b/src/libstrongswan/utils.h
@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@
  */
 #define POS printf("%s, line %d\n", __FILE__, __LINE__)
 
+/**
+ * Object allocation/initialization macro, using designated initializer.
+ */
+#define INIT(this, ...) { (this) = malloc(sizeof(*this)); \
+						  *(this) = (typeof(*this)){ __VA_ARGS__ }; }
+
 /**
  * Macro to allocate a sized type.
  */