Lee Jong-wook (1945–2006) was the Director-General of the World Health Organization for three years.
He was born 12 April 1945 in Seoul, Korea. After graduating from Kyungbock high school, Lee obtained a medical degree from Seoul National University, then enrolled at the University of Hawaii to study public health, earning a Master's degree. He 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 of WHO on 21 July 2003, having been elected two months before. He was the first Korean to lead an international agency. He died on 22 May 2006 - while in office - in Geneva, Switzerland, following surgery for a blood clot on his brain (a subdural hematoma). He was posthumously awarded the Hibiscus Cordon (Grand Cross) of the Order of Civil Merit by the South Korean government.
In 2004, he was one of the 100 people who shapes our lives and most powerful people in the world by Time Magazine.
Read more about Lee Jong-wook: Family, Medical Volunteer Work, WHO Career, Director General, Memorial Award
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