In Memoriam
Lee Jong-wook
Director General, World Health Organization (1945?2006)
Staff Report
24 May 2006
Dr. Lee Jong-wook. (Photo: H. Jansen/
WHO
)
The IAEA expresses its deep regret and great sadness at the untimely dealth of Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director General of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), on 22 May 2006.
"Dr. Lee´s death is a great loss to the World Health Organization as well as to the international community, which he served with distinction," IAEA Director General Dr. ElBaradei said.
"It is with deep regret and great sadness that my colleagues and I here at the International Atomic Energy Agency have learned of the untimely death of Dr. Lee," Dr. ElBaradei said.
The IAEA has been working increasingly closely with WHO, in fields such as assessing the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and working to improve cancer management in poor- and middle-income countries. In the past year, a collaboration between the two organisations is driving global efforts to raise awareness and new financial resources to improve cancer management in developing countries, where a cancer crisis is rapidly emerging as a major health problem.
Dr. Lee worked for 23 years at WHO, and was the first person from the Republic of Korea to lead a UN agency.
The IAEA Director General and staff extend their most sincere condolences to Dr. Lee´s family and his colleagues at WHO.