Photo: 内閣府, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons¹²

Tadateru Konoe

Japanese humanitarian (1939–2026)

Tadateru Konoe (近衛忠煇, Konoe Tadateru; 8 May 1939 – 23 May 2026) was a Japanese humanitarian who was president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).²

From Wikipedia’s article on Tadateru Konoe (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born May 8, 1939, died May 23, 2026.¹

About

Konoe was the 32nd Head of the Konoe family. President of the Japanese Red Cross Society from 2005, he dedicated his entire professional career to domestic and international Red Cross Red Crescent activities. In 2009 and again in 2013, Konoe was elected President of the IFRC, serving until he was replaced by Francesco Rocca on 6 November 2017.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tadateru Konoe, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Japanese Red Cross SocietyChair Apr 2005 to Jun 28, 2019¹¹

Early life and education

Date not recordedGakushuin University³

Background

Tadateru Konoe was born with the name Moriteru Hosokawa (細川護煇, Hosokawa Moriteru) and his paternal ancestry can be traced back to the Japanese Imperial Family since the Hosokawa clan is a branch of Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan. His mother, Yoshiko (温子), was the second daughter of Fumimaro Konoe. As his maternal uncle Fumitaka Konoe (近衛文隆, Konoe Fumitaka) died childless in the Soviet Union in 1956 as a prisoner of war, Tadateru became the heir of his maternal grandfather and used his family name Konoe (近衛) instead.

The Konoe family is the most senior branch of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family throughout Japanese history. The clan traces its ancestry to Fujiwara no Kamatari.

On 16 December 1966, he married Princess Yasuko of Mikasa, a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. They have a son named Tadahiro and three grandchildren. Konoe and his wife were fourth cousins once removed as both are descendants of Nabeshima Narinao (1780–1839), the 9th lord of Saga Domain; as both are descendants of the Imperial House of Japan both paternal and maternal lines, they were also more distantly related multiple times over.

Konoe was also a second cousin once removed of the Emperor Akihito, as both of them are descended from Prince Kuni Asahiko of the Kuni-no-miya imperial branch house.

Konoe died on 23 May 2026, at the age of 87.

Academic career

Konoe was graduated in 1962 from Gakushuin University in Tokyo Japan. He received a B.A. degree in Political Science, after which he attended the London School of Economics in 1964 where he majored in International Relations. In 1994, he was lecturer on Micro study on International Relief Organizations at the Graduate School of Toyo Eiwa University, in Tokyo, Japan, and he was a lecturer, panelist, commentator, and speaker at various academic and other forums on topics including humanitarian aid, IHL, disasters, development, and bio-ethics.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tadateru Konoe (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: civil servant.⁶

2009 to 2017Chair, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies⁵
2005 to 2019Chair, Japanese Red Cross Society⁴

Personal life

BornMay 8, 1939, Tokyo⁷
CitizenshipJapan, Empire of Japan⁸
SpouseYasuko Konoe⁹

Awards

2012Distinguished Guest of Mexico City¹⁰

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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WikidataTadateru Konoe on Wikidata
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WikipediaTadateru Konoe on Wikipedia
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: Chair, Japanese Red Cross Society, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: Chair, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: occupation, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: place of birth, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: spouse, on Wikidata
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WikidataTadateru Konoe: award, on Wikidata
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WikidataJapanese Red Cross Society, Chair
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Wikimedia CommonsTadateru Konoe photo by 内閣府, CC BY 4.0