Report by Rtn. Naveen Gupta from Metro Plus
New Delhi, 15 July: Rotary International president-elect, Sam Owori has died.
Owori is said to have died in the US due to complications after he had a leg operation.
President Rotary International 2017-18, Ian H.S. Riseley confirmed the news saying Owori died last thursday night.
“Sam had undergone some surgery in Texas that he had been planning for some time, and there were post-operative complications from which he couldn’t recover. I will provide appropriate details when they are known. In this time of great loss, I ask you to keep Norah, the Owori family and Sam’s millions of friends around the world in your thoughts,” Mr Riseley in a statement.
He further noted details on Owori’s funeral arrangements will be communicated later.
“Sam was a special person in so many ways, and is a huge loss. From the perspective of Rotary administration, we in Evanston are looking at what needs to be done as a result of Sam’s passing,” he added.
Owori was on in August 2016 nominated to head Rotary International as president for year 2018-2019.
A professional banker, Owori was the first past district governor of the Rotary Club 9200 and the second African to be nominated to Rotary International, a body responsible for the administration, policy formulation and financial control of Rotary clubs worldwide.
He was going to be installed this year in Toronto.
After his election, Owori said he saw in Rotary “an incredible passion to make a difference.”
As president, he planned to “harness that enthusiasm and pride so that every project becomes the engine of peace and prosperity.”
Before he was elected as Rotary president, Owori was chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda.
Before that, he was executive director of the African Development Bank, managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd., and director of Uganda Development Bank.
He studied law, employment relations, business management, corporate resources management, microfinance, and marketing at institutions in England, Japan, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States, including Harvard Business School.
Since becoming a member in 1978, Owori had served Rotary as regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, RI Representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat, and RI director.
He was also a member or chair of several committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee.
Most recently, Owori served as trustee of The Rotary Foundation, chair of The Rotary Foundation’s Finance Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee, according to the Rotary website.
Owori was reportedly a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation, and he and his wife, Norah, are Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.
