Aidan O’Leary, a native of Ireland and former director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) polio eradication programme, tragically passed away on August 6th, 2024, while holidaying in Portugal with his wife and two grown children. Born on June 5th, 1965, O’Leary lived to be 59.
Before his involvement in international aid, Aidan O’Leary served in the Irish Army. He spent his career working in key positions for internationally recognised organisations. Some of these organisations included the OSCE (Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe), UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) for Palestinian refugees, OCHA (Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Unicef (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), and eventually the WHO.
O’Leary’s prolific career took him to troubled regions like Yemen, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Despite not pursuing public recognition or awards, his efforts earned him widespread esteem within the international aid community. Known for his cooperative leadership approach and problem-solving prowess, his legacy is felt most deeply amongst the isolated and vulnerable populations he valiantly served.
Aidan was heralded as a remarkable humanitarian by WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after his sudden demise. He recalled O’Leary’s ceaseless devotion in challenging global regions to bolster vulnerable societies’ resilience and to eradicate polio. His ethos of service went beyond borders, embracing unity and solidarity amongst differing peoples.
Similarly, President Michael D Higgins, who had interacted with O’Leary several times in Gaza, noted that Aidan’s work would be best remembered and valued amongst the remote and exposed communities he tirelessly served.
O’Leary’s journey began in Beaumont, a suburb in North Dublin, where he was the eldest sibling amongst Pauline and Bill O’Leary’s four children. His father, Bill O’Leary, served as a Garda superintendent. Upon completing his secondary education at Marino’s Ardscoil Rís, Aidan joined the Irish Army in 1983. During his initial service in the Supply and Transport Corps, managing military operation logistics, he earned an economics degree from University College Galway (now University of Galway) between 1986-1989, a course he pursued while on academic breaks from the army.
Maintaining his role within the Defence Forces, he concurrently achieved a master’s in economics from University College Dublin (UCD), attending part-time, and sat and passed exams for professional chartered accountancy qualifications. His potential didn’t go unnoticed within the Defence Forces and in 1991 he was selected for a one-year secondment to the Department of Finance, undertaking policy analyst responsibilities.
He met Karen Higgins, his future wife, at UCG, where she was studying engineering and originally from Galway. They tied the knot in 2002 and ultimately made their home in Salthill, Galway. Whenever he returned from his international assignments, O’Leary took great pleasure in the Galway lifestyle.
In 1992, he was assigned as a lieutenant to the Defence Forces headquarters in the planning and research department, subsequently moving to the strategic planning office. John Ging, a lifelong comrade from their tenure as cadets in the Irish Army, commented on O’Leary’s influential role as the chiefs of staff’s trusted strategic planner during the considerable changes in the public sector from 1992 upto 2000. Throughout this time, O’Leary served in Lebanon twice, each for a six-month period, with the UN peacekeeping force, and carried out a six-month tour in Yugoslavia, in a role with the European Union’s monitoring service during the war. His promotion to captain took place during this epoch.
In 2000, he was scouted to work, at first on a secondment from the Defence Forces, for the Administration and Finance Department of the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was tasked with backing human rights initiatives, military stabilisation, democratisation, and elections as part of the post-conflict reconstruction and rejuvenation of the state.
In 2006, O’Leary was sought after to serve as John Ging’s deputy at the UNRWA, assisting Palestinian refugees in tumultuous Gaza. According to Ging, during this period of immense political and security disruption, O’Leary demonstrated a strong commitment to education. Despite difficult circumstances, O’Leary firmly believed that children can and should be educated. As the leader of an education reform programme responsible for 250 schools in the region, O’Leary’s guidance led to improved academic performance, even during a period of declining security and economic condition.
Described as a compassionate and humble man, O’Leary’s physical stature was coupled with a gentle voice. He had a knack for leading without force, setting lofty goals and often surpassing them. Ging, now the Chief Executive of the Famine Relief Fund, attests to his exceptional leadership traits.
2011 saw O’Leary moving to Afghanistan to lead the OCHA, where he coordinated humanitarian efforts and mobilised funding in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen over the years. During his time with UNRWA in Bosnia and East Jerusalem, his family lived with him. However, they relocated to Ireland so that the children could start primary school there. O’Leary, known for his strong family affection, heavily depended on their love and was always discussing them with his colleagues.
In 2015, O’Leary took charge of the Unicef Polio eradication programme in Pakistan, one of the few remaining polio-endemic regions. Subsequently, he resumed his role as the head of the OCHA office in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
In January 2021, Aidan O’Leary was scouted to be the director of the polio eradication programme run by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and relocated to Geneva for this role. He remained in this position until his demise. One of his final responsibilities included devising strategies for two phases of polio vaccination drives aimed at 600,000 youngsters below eight years of age in Gaza. Over one million polio vaccines are being transported to Gaza by the WHO for distribution in the following weeks.
Aidan O’Leary is mourned by his spouse, Karen, and their children, Darragh and Eimear. His siblings Art, Mary-Liz, and Eoin, along with his mother, Pauline, also survive him. Aidan’s father, Bill, passed away earlier in 2013.