Hisashi Owada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hisashi Owada (小和田 恆 Owada Hisashi, born September 18, 1932), a former Japanese diplomat, is a judge on the International Court of Justice. Owada also serves as president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs and advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he is a professor of international law and organization at Waseda University. Owada also serves as senior advisor to the president of the World Bank.
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[edit] Early life
Hisashi Owada was born in Shibata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. After earning a B.A. from the University of Tokyo in 1955, he attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom where he earned a law degree in 1956.
[edit] Career
[edit] Diplomat
Upon completion of his education, he returned to Japan and entered the country's Foreign Service in 1955, serving in various posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo and Japan's embassies in Russia and the United States. From 1976 to 1978, he served as Private Secretary to Takeo Fukuda, the Prime Minister of Japan. He served as Japanese Ambassador to the OECD from 1988 to 1989 before returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he served as Deputy Minister until his promotion to Vice-Minister in 1991 serving until 1993. From 1994 to 1998, he served as Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations, where he served until his appointment to the International Court of Justice in 2003. During his tenure as UN Ambassador, he served twice as United Nations Security Council President.
[edit] Law professor
In addition to his Foreign Service career, Owada has also served as a law professor for three decades at the University of Tokyo, Harvard Law School, New York University Law School, Columbia Law School, the Hague Academy of International Law, Waseda University, and the University of Cambridge. Furthermore, he serves on the Board of Directors of The Nuclear Threat Initiative. and the Board of Directors of the United Nations Foundation. He has received honorary degrees from Keiwa University, Banaras Hindu University, and Waseda University.
[edit] Princess Masako
In 1993, his daughter Masako Owada, a diplomat in her own right, married Crown Prince Naruhito, the heir to the Japanese Chrysanthemum Throne.
