Mr. Koichiro Matsuura graduated from the Economics Department of Hayverford College (the USA, Pennsylvania). He worked as a diplomat, in the period of 1992-1994 held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
On October 20, 1999 Mr. Matsuura was elected as the Director-General. He became the ninth leader of this international organization and the first representative of the Asian country in this post.
Interesting Facts
On October 12, 2005 he was re-elected as the Director-General of UNESCO for a four-year term.
Mr. Koichiro Matsuura was awarded the following titles:
Cavalier of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (April 23, 2001);
Honorary Doctor of Lomonosov Moscow State University (2003)
Order of the Polar Star (Yakutia, July 19, 2006)
In 2002 the International Prize "Dialogue of Civilizations" was awarded.
Foreign Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts