First Korean who took the office of the Secretary General of the WHO, a major international organization
An internationally respected person called ‘Asian Schweitzer’, ‘Emperor of vaccines’, and ‘A Man of Action’
(Late) Lee Jong-wook
Secretary General, WHO (1945~2006)
- Academic background
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1976
Graduated from the Medical College, SNU
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1979 ~ 1981
M.S. in Public Healthcare, Graduate School of Public Healthcare, Univ. of Hawaii
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2011
Honorary Doctor, Seoul National Univ.
- Professional career
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1983 ~ 1994
Advisor on Hansen’s Disease to a regional WHO office
Director, Diseases Prevention and Management, a regional WHO office
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1994 ~ 1998
Head of Global Vaccine Program and Children’s Vaccine Project, WHO
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1998 ~ 2000
Sr. Policy Advisor, Resource Mobilization and External Cooperation, WHO
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2000 ~ 2003
Director General, Tuberculosis Extermination Project, WHO
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2003 ~ 2006
6th Secretary General, WHO
- Awards
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2002
Order of Civil Merit, Peony Medal
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2004
Gold Medal, Red Cross Humanism Award, Korean Red Cross
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2006
Order of Civil Merit, Rose of Sharon Medal
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2008
1st Korea-America Proud Doctor Award, Korea Doctors Association –Hanmi Pharmacy
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2010
Hansen Award, World Hansen Forum
Secretary General Jong-wook Lee is a medical scientist and global leader who devoted his life to the enhancement of world healthcare, working as the head of the WHO, under the UN, for the first time as a Korean. He has been a family doctor of all humans and healthcare administrator who devoted his life to those who were poor and alienated. His activities reached Hansen’s disease, polio, tuberculosis, and AIDS, closely in line with the history of mankind fighting against disease.
After majoring in construction engineering at Hanyang Univ., he went to the College of Medicine of the SNU again for a better value of life and graduated in 1976. During his study at medical school, he began his humane medical services taking the opportunity to participate in volunteering for Hansen’s disease patients. After graduating from college, he entered the Graduate School of Healthcare of the Hawaii Univ. and acquired his master’s degree in epidemiology in May 1981. After that, he worked as a doctor in Samoa, an island nation in the South Pacific and made devotional medical services in difficult circumstances, earning the alias of ‘Asian Schweitzer.’
He was recognized as an international expert in Hansen’s disease with the “research on finding the latent period of Hansen’s disease” and invited by the WHO as the Advisor on Hansen’s disease for the local secretariat office in South Pacific in 1983, his first encounter with the WHO. In 1994, he took charge of the WHO global vaccine program and the vaccine project for children and declared ‘war against polio’ saying, “We cannot stand that our future and hopes, children are dying or having the pain of paralyzed legs.” One year later, he succeeded in reducing the occurrence of polio to less than one person per 10,000 people of the world. With this, Scientific American called him the ‘Emperor of Vaccine.’
In 2000, when he was appointed as the head of the tuberculosis extermination project, he established the Global Partnership to Stop TB and the Global Drug Facility (GDF), which are still evaluated as the most successful and active private-public partnership projects in the area of healthcare.
In 2003, when he was appointed as the sixth Secretary General of the WHO, he took the termination of AIDS as the foremost task as the head of the healthcare organization of the whole world. He performed ‘Three by Five Campaign’ which was to provide medicine for 3 million AIDS patients by 2005 and induced attention on AIDS treatment and lots of support. In 2004, he was featured by Times weekly magazine as one of the ‘100 most influential persons in the world’ with the prevention of the spread of avian influenza, the extermination of polio and tuberculosis, and regulation of smoking as achievements.
He devoted himself to implementing WHO reform and enhancement of its regional and national organizations, supporting member countries throughout his over 20 years of service, beginning from a Hansen’s disease advisor for a regional office of WHO reaching to the Secretary General. He accomplished many important WHO achievements such as the ratification of a basic agreement for tobacco regulation, revision of international healthcare rules, new type flu vaccines, Asian Tsunami, and Pakistani earthquake activities.
While working as a healthcare administrator, he kept researching and published 5 SCI level papers. During 2004~2007 when he held the office of Secretary General, he left the “World Health Report” to cope with the various threats facing the world such as AIDS, women and children, human healthcare resources, and health and peace.
He passed away from a subarachnoid hemorrhage during the preparation for the WHO General Assembly on May 22, 2006. His funeral was held as a WHO funeral and his body was contained in the Daejeon National Cemetery. The Korean government appreciated his merits in accomplishing outstanding achievements for promoting world healthcare and advancing the national profile and awarded him with the highest grade national order, Order of Civil Merit, Rose of Sharon Medal, in 2006. Recognizing his reputation both in Korea and overseas, he has been awarded an Order of Civil Merit, Peony Medal, Proud Korean Award by the Korea Journalists Association, Humanism Award Gold Medal by the Korea Red Cross, the 1st Korea-America Proud Doctor Award by the Korea Doctors Association and Hanmi Pharmacy, and Hansen Award by the World Hansen Forum.