Yoshio Utsumi

Who is Yoshio Utsumi?

Yoshio Utsumi was the secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, 1998-2006.

He was born in Japan in 1942, and earned his Bachelor in law at the University of Tokyo, and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Chicago.

He worked for the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in various high level posts, including helping liberalize Japan's telecommunications market, serving as director-general of the ministry, and serving as first secretary of the Japanese mission to the ITU for 3 years, before he moved to the post of ITU secretary-general in 1998.

He was reelected in 2002 for a second term, but was not a candidate for reelection in 2006, since the rules of the ITU do not permit more than 2 consecutive periods as secretary-general. In April 2013 he was awarded The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure in recognition of his achievements.