Hiroshi Nakajima, former director general of the World Health Organization, died Saturday in France after a short illness, the Geneva-based health organization said Monday. He was 84.
After a career in neuropharmacology research, Nakajima joined the WHO in 1974, where he served as director general from 1988 to 1998.
Nakajima, who was born in Chiba Prefecture, was the first Asian head of the organization.
"One of Dr. Nakajima's greatest passions was to see polio defeated," WHO Director General Margaret Chan said.
