Japanese diplomat (1943–2021)
Kenzo Oshima (大島 賢三 Ōshima Kenzō was a Japanese diplomat.
Biography
Oshima was the recipient of a law degree from the University of Tokyo before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967. He served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs from 2001 to 2003, and was also Japan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2004 to 2007.[ 1]
Before his appointment as Ambassador to the UN, he was the Ambassador of Japan to Australia from September 2003 to December 2004. In mid-January 2001, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs . Prior to this, he was Secretary-General of the Secretariat for International Peace Cooperation Headquarters in the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan , where he oversaw Japan's peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance program. During his early diplomatic career he was posted abroad to France , India , Australia , and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations headquarters in New York City . He was also managing director of the Africa Society of Japan.[ 2]
On a personal level, Oshima took the issue of Chernobyl to heart, being a Hiroshima survivor. In his capacity as United Nations Coordinator of International Cooperation on Chernobyl, he launched the report The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery .[ 3]
He was married and had two children.
Oshima died of a heart attack on May 29, 2021, at the age of 78.[ 1]
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