South Korean physician (1945?2006)
Lee Jong-wook
(
Korean
:
이종욱
; 12 April 1945 ? 22 May 2006) was a South Korean physician. He was the
director-general
of the
World Health Organization
for three years. Lee joined the WHO in 1983, working on a variety of projects including the
Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations
and
Stop
Tuberculosis
. He began his term as director-general in 2004, and was the first figure from
Korea
to lead an international agency.
In 2004, Lee was listed as one of the
100 most influential people in the world
by
Time
magazine.
[1]
Early life
[
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]
Born on 12 April 1945 in
Keij?
,
Keiki-d?
,
Korea, Empire of Japan
(now Seoul, South Korea).
Lee received a Bachelors in Engineering from
Hanyang University
, followed by a
medical degree
at
Seoul National University
, and a Master of Medicine at the
University of Hawaii
in
public health
. He is the third son in a family of six children; he has three brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers are professors.
[
citation needed
]
Lee took care of leprosy patients in
Anyang
,
South Korea
when he was studying medicine. There were few medical facilities set up at the time and he worked in a volunteer capacity. He met and later married Kaburaki Reiko, a Japanese woman who visited Korea in order to volunteer in the country.
[2]
WHO career
[
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]
He worked at the
World Health Organization
(WHO), at country, regional and headquarter levels for 23 years.
[3]
His work in WHO started in 1983 when he worked with leprosy in
Fiji
. He started his work as an advisor on leprosy, and later also treated
tuberculosis
and promoted the vaccination of children against preventable diseases.
[4]
In 1994, Lee moved to Geneva to work at WHO headquarters as chief in prevention and vaccines. In 1995, he was nicknamed Vaccine Czar according to
Scientific American
.
[5]
Lee became official candidate for 6th director-generals of WHO.
- 1983?2006: Staff of WHO
- 1994?98: Director in Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunization, and Executive Secretary, Children's Vaccine Initiative
- 1998?99: Senior Policy Adviser to 5th General, Gro Harlem Brundtland
- 1999?2000: Special Representative of the Director-General
- 2003?2006: Director-General of WHO
[6]
He had said that global efforts to control the HIV/AIDS pandemic would be the right course that would give meaning to his tenure as director-general of the agency.
[7]
The 3 by 5 policy, which was the basic idea of Lee, was largely criticized by many concerned people. International AIDS Society president Joep Lange, had a comment that the project was "totally unrealistic". Medecins sans Frontieres, also expressed similar reservations toward Lee's plan.
[8]
He visited 60 countries in the three years of his Generalship including
Darfur
,
Sudan
, sites of the Indian Ocean tsunami,
Madagascar
,
Mauritius
.
[9]
He was famed as a
man of action
during this time. His adventurous spirit led him to "experience more, see more, and do more," said his son Tadahiro.
[10]
Death and commemoration
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]
He died on 22 May 2006, in intensive care unit of
Geneva University Hospital
,
Switzerland
, following emergency surgery for a
blood clot
in the brain (a
subdural hematoma
).
[11]
He had been preparing for UN general meetings when he fell ill at a weekend luncheon.
[12]
Secretary General of United Nations at that time,
Kofi Annan
mentioned
The world has lost a great man today. He was a strong voice for the right of every man, woman, and child to health prevention and care, and advocated on behalf of the very poorest people.
[13]
President
George W. Bush
of the United States said
Dr. Lee worked tirelessly to improve the health of millions of people, from combating tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS to his aggressive efforts to eradicate polio. He provided tremendous leadership to the international community as it confronted the challenges of the 21st century, including the threat of an influenza pandemic. Dr. Lee's outreach to world leaders and entities increased awareness of potentially devastating public health dangers.
[14]
He was posthumously awarded the Hibiscus Cordon (Grand Cross) of the Order of Civil Merit by the
South Korean government
.
He was survived by Reiko Kaburaki Lee; the couple has one son, Tadahiro Lee.
[15]
Reiko continues to volunteer in Peru helping poor women and children.
[16]
Memorial award
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]
The South Korean government officially announced the establishment of the a
Memorial Prize
in Lee's memory. After his death, You Si min, the Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea, officially revealed the plans concerning the new awards and urged other nations and persons concerned to participate at a meeting of WHO in 2007.
[17]
Mr. Lee Sung-joo, who is permanent representative of the Republic of Korea, spoke of the award in Dr. Lee's memory to motivate and inspire young leaders aspiring to be the next Dr. Lee Jong-wook.
[18]
Starting in 2009, the awards would be given for mainly the fields "young leadership" and "contributor of health management" (especially for epidemics) at the annual assembly of WHO, which takes place in May each year.
[19]
See also
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References
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External links
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1
Died in office in 2006.
2
Acting Director-General.
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