Biography

Tadateru Konoe

* 14th President of the Japanese Red Cross Society
* President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 2009-2017 (IFRC)

Born in Tokyo on 8th May, 1939, which happens to be World Red Cross Red Crescent Day. After graduating from Gakushuin University, he studied at the London School of Economics for two years. On his way back to Japan from London, he decided to stop and travel around several conflict areas in the Middle East and Asia. On returning to Japan, his experiences prompted him to join the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) and in the decades since then, he has dedicated his working life to the Red Cross.

In JRCS, he gained experience in various departments, such as Domestic Disaster Response, the Blood Programme, Social Welfare Service, the Junior Red Cross and International Activities.

While working on the Blood Programme, he provided activities and services not only within Japan but also created the “Asian Blood Programme Symposium” in partnership with the Thai Red Cross to build stronger relationships within the international community between the Red Cross Red Crescent and other actors.

From 1991 to 2005, he served as a chairman of the board of directors in JRCS Academy and made a significant contribution in the field of education by establishing 6 JRCS nursing colleges as well as a master's and doctoral degree programs.

Outside of JRCS Activities, he has been involved in numerous humanitarian organizations including the Central Disaster Prevention Council and has maintained his longstanding commitment to raising awareness of humanitarian issues.

In April 2005, he became President of JRCS, and in November the same year, he was elected to Vice President of IFRC. In 2009 he took the position of President of IFRC up to 2017.