Joe Irukwu

Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu (20 July 1934 – 7 July 2023) was a Nigerian insurance executive, lawyer, lecturer and author who wrote published works about the insurance industry in Africa. He was also a president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, an ethno-political and social group that represents the interest of Igbos in the Nigerian polity.

Irukwu was the founding managing director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, in 1989, he founded African Development Insurance Company which was later sold to Diamond Bank.

Life Irukwu was born on 20 July 1934. He obtained his degree in Law and Insurance from a British university in 1962. Upon returning to Nigeria, he found employment with West African Provincial Insurance Company, a British firm operating out of Lagos. Originally, a legal adviser, he rose within the firm and joined the managerial cadre of the firm's insurance department in 1965. In 1970, he was appointed chief executive officer of Unity Life and Fire Insurance Company and it was while working at Unity that his profile began to rise. In 1972, the government appointed him head of the student loans board, a committee with the responsibility to disburse loans to thousands of students.

Works