Japanese diplomat Dr Sadako Ogata was born in Japan in 1927. She devoted much of her life to refugee work for the United Nations (UN). Dr Ogata studied political science in California. She then taught at several universities in and outside of Japan. Her publications on diplomacy and universal human rights attracted international attention. Before Dr Ogata assumed the high commissionership in 1990, she was a member of the Japanese delegation to the UN General Assembly. After she stepped down in 2003, Dr Ogata became president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. This organisation arranges aid to developing countries. She died in 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.