WHO Director-General dies

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Lee Jong-wook, has died.

He had been in the Cantonal Hospital in Geneva since Saturday afternoon, where he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. He remained in intensive care and was declared dead on Monday morning. The WHO official was 61 years old.

Dr Lee, a national of the Republic of Korea, had been Director-General of the World Health Organization since July 21, 2003. He had worked for WHO for 23 years, at country and regional levels, and at WHO Headquarters in Geneva.

Lee was considered an international-level expert on healthcare, fighting tuberculosis and vaccination of children.

Lee visited Azerbaijan late in April.*