A Tribute
Remembering Dr. Lee

The sudden death of WHO Director-General LEE Jongwook set a somber tone for this year's World Health Assembly in late May. Lee died on the assembly's opening day, after suffering a stroke two days earlier. He was 61 and had served three years of a five-year term at the helm of the global health agency.

"LEE Jong-wook was a man of conviction and passion," said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a statement. "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."

Mirta Roses, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), was with Lee the day before he suffered a stroke. "He was my older brother in WHO, and I committed myself to continuing to be guided by his values, principles, and strong loyalty to the mission of WHO," she said.

More than 1,000 people attended Lee's funeral on May 24 in Geneva. Eulogies were given by his only son, Tadahiro Lee, by his top aide, Bill Kean, and by Rhyu Simin, minister of health of Lee's native Korea.

Kean, who worked closely with Lee on a daily basis, described him as "a man of unusual humility and modesty" who "had an apparently effortless way of getting people to do things, and to do them well."

"He took rich pleasure in his friends' conversation, in his music, and his reading, in good food and wine, in pushing the boundaries physically on his bicycle or on his skis, in doing his utmost in whatever he did, whether in his personal or in his public life. He was doing that right up to when his life ended. His last words were, characteristically, on malaria treatment," said Kean.

Lee's son, Tadahiro, recalled his father's "generosity and caring" and his "adventurous spirit." "If ever he seemed stern or impatient, I believe it was because he had so much to accomplish in the time that he had."

Rhyu, describing Lee's dedication to international public health, said: "He wanted change to take place on the ground. He traveled great distances, to more than 60 countries in three years. And he would never hesitate to travel the distance across the floor to take the hand of a child who was sick. His work has touched millions and has made their lives better."

Lee joined WHO in 1983, working on leprosy in Fiji. He later devoted much of his efforts to tuberculosis and vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly polio.

LEE Jong-wook talked with reporters in Sri Lanka after the 2005 Asian tsunami. Lee traveled tomore than 60 countries during the three years he served as WHO'sdirector-general.© Armando Waak/PAHO

One of his major accomplishments before becoming director-general was the development of the Global Partnership to Stop TB, a coalition of more than 250 international partners including WHO member countries, donors, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and foundations. Lee also was responsible for the creation of the Global Drug Facility, an initiative to increase access to TB drugs, with the support of multilateral agencies, governments, and foundations.

Among the WHO milestones during Lee's tenure as director-general were the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (the first public health treaty negotiated by WHO), the revision of the International Health Regulations, and WHO's leadership of the health response to the Asian tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake, and avian influenza.

"Dr. Lee understood that his job was not merely about organizations, initiatives or conferences, but about people around the world suffering from sickness and disease," said Korean Minister of Health Rhyu. "It seems the greatest tribute we could pay would be to quietly carry forward what he has left behind to save the lives of people suffering from disease."

More tributes to Lee may be viewed at WHO's web site.