UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr. Taleb Rifai, expresses the condolences of the Organization to the family of Mr. Rajesh Rawat, who passed away on Saturday, 13 May after a long international career
Director of the India Tourist Office in Paris and subsequently at the Geneva office in the 1960s, Mr. Rawat then became the Delegate of the South Asia Travel Commission from 1962 to 1963. In 1968 he joined the Working Group of the IUOTO Executive Committee and was influential in the transformation of IUOTO’s status into an intergovernmental organization. Following the nomination of Robert Lonati as UNWTO Secretary-General in May 1975, Mr. Rawat was appointed Deputy-Secretary-General-- the first in UNWTO's history and a post he held from April 1976 until December 1989.
Described by his colleagues as a delicate human being with profound analytical sense, Mr. Rawat was praised for his wide international experience and dedication to this Organization.
Mr. Rawat will be warmly remembered by all who knew him.
