The Presidents of FIGO

International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 86 (2004) 135–165

The Presidents of FIGO H. Ludwig1,* Emeritus Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Basel, Wartenbergstr. 9, CH 4052 Basel, Switzerland

1954–1958 Hubert de Watteville (Fig 1, Fig 2) The first president

Hubert de Watteville was born and educated in Berne, Switzerland. He graduated from the Medical School of the Berne University in 1931 and was

Fig. 1. Prof. Hubert de Watteville, Switzerland (1907–1984). *Tel.: q41-61-3129512; fax: q41-61-3129514. E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Ludwig). 1 Past-Treasurer of FIGO (1982–1994)

a resident in Berne, Zurich, and Geneva. He became chief resident in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Basel, in 1938, and in Zurich, in 1944. In 1946 at the age of 39, he was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Geneva and remained there until 1976, resigning from that post at the age of 69. Hubert de Watteville was a prominent figure owing to his education, personal culture, linguistic skills, and diplomacy. He was sought-after as a gynecologist and obstetrician by many local and foreign patients, among them many celebrities. He saw some of his patients at his private clinic not far from the Maternite´ in Geneva, of which he was director. Some of his colleagues in Switzerland envied him for his reputation and popularity among famous people. Prof. de Watteville focused his scientific work on endocrinology, collaborating with Bruno Lunenfeld and others on menopausal gonadotrophins and on psychosomatic gynecology. w1– 3,6x. In 1993 R. Borth, a close collaborator of Prof. de Watteville in Geneva, wrote (R. Borth, personal notes, 1993): In remembering him, Renaissance man is the first expression that comes to mind. Besides his professional skills, he had a wide range of interests, knowledge, and insights—science, music, fine arts, and politics. Conversation with him on almost any subject was always captivating and often rewarding. His forceful personality, his predilection for duty and discipline, and his aloofness from academic politics were traits that did not always

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endear him to colleagues and associates, though he acquired some diplomatic skills rather late in his life. While joking to be the first member of his family with a decent job (his father Moritz von Wattenwyl was a colonel in the Swiss army), he was proud of his background, and enjoyed his role in international organizations and societies, but his personal life style remained simple and unassuming. His compassionate interest in improving the health care for women and children in the Third World engaged his energies to the end. H. de Watteville himself described the foundation of FIGO in 1978 as follows w4x: Before the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics was created, international congresses had been held in 1898 in St. Petersburg and 1938 in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam it was decided to hold another world congress in 1942 in Berne, Switzerland, but World War II made it impossible. In May 1950, Prof. Fred Adair from Chicago, and Prof. Howard C. Taylor, Jr., from New York organized a congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology in New York that was attended by a great number of foreign guests. This congress was the last in a series of congresses held in the United States by Dr. Adair under the auspices of the American Committee on Maternal Welfare (the forerunner of ACOG), and was designed by him as the Fourth American and the First International Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology. During this congress it was decided to create an International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. This federation was to organize world congresses at regular intervals, with the first to be held in 1954, if possible, in Switzerland. The foundation meeting of FIGO was to take place at this 1954 congress. Dr. F.L. Adair ´ and Dr. H.C. Taylor (USA), Dr. L. Gerin-Lajoie (Canada), Dr. F.Ch. van Tongeren (the Netherlands) and I (H. de Watteville, Switzerland) were asked to prepare a draft constitution. The Swiss Society of Gynecology accepted the responsibility of organizing the World Congress, chose Geneva as the site, and nominated me as the president of the Congress. After retiring from his post as Secretary General of FIGO in 1976 and the transfer of the FIGO Sec-

Fig. 2. H. de Watteville, sketch drawn during the First Congress, Geneva, 1954.

retariat from Geneva to London, H. de Watteville founded Mother and Child International, later the International Association of Maternal and Neonatal Health, known as IAMANEH (1977). It is a nongovernmental, non-profit association of some 35 autonomous national societies whose members are in the medical and nursing fields—midwives and other individuals committed to helping underprivileged mothers and their offspring, especially in developing countries. In his late years, H. de Watteville devoted his efforts to this association w5x. He died on February 14, 1984, in Geneva. In 1991, FIGO created, jointly with IFFS, the Hubert de Watteville Memorial Lecture, to be delivered at the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. One of the most experienced and valued members of the FIGO scientific community is selected to be the speaker. The Hubert de Watteville Memorial lecturers have been: 1991, Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson (USA); 1994, Dr. Nafis Sadik (Pakistan); 1997, Prof. E. Diczfalusy (Sweden); 2000, Prof. M. Fathalla (Egypt); 2003, ¨ ¨ (Finland). (See the chapter FIGO Prof. M. Seppala Tri-annual Congress, by S. Arulkumaran.)

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´ Fig. 3. Prof. Leon Gerin-Lajoie, Canada (1895–1959).

´ 1958–1959 Leon Gerin-Lajoie (Fig 3) ´ Dr. Leon Gerin-Lajoie, a Quebecois, was born on March 14, 1895. President of the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Canada wSOGCx in 1944–1945, he informed the SOGC in mid-June 1949 that there was a proposal for the formation of an international federation of obstetrics and gynecology. The SOGC contributed financially towards the creation of this organization. After a long deliberation, the SOGC decided to join FIGO in 1954 and became ´ one of its founding members. Dr. Gerin-Lajoie

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became strongly and closely involved with FIGO as the Federation’s most loyal Canadian supporter. A delegation was formed to handle the questions concerning FIGO before the 1954 Geneva con´ gress. Dr. Gerin-Lajoie was the spokesman of the SOGC delegation, which also included three other Canadian gynecologists (Drs. George Steen, D.E. Kennel, and Hemlow). The Canadian delegation was asked to host the second FIGO World Congress in Montreal in 1958. The motion was strongly supported by the SOGC ´ Council and members. Dr. Gerin-Lajoie’s commitment to FIGO caused him to be elected Vice-President of FIGO and appointed President of the second FIGO World Congress in Montreal. At that early time, the same person was both FIGO President and Congress President. SOGC members felt that this congress would make SOGC a credible leader in international health. A few obstacles arose, however, primarily regarding the planning of the SOGC Annual Meeting in 1958 and the avail´ ability of funds. Dr. Gerin-Lajoie feared that the spring meeting would discourage some SOGC members to participate in the FIGO congress in the fall because of travel time and cost. He simply stated that nothing should interfere with the World Congress. FIGO’s second World Congress was a success. ´ In spite of Dr. Gerin-Lajoie’s perseverance and Dr. Steen’s management skills, many issues were left unresolved, especially financial issues. He had become FIGO President in 1958. Unfortunately, in 1959, as the congress reports were being prepared, ´ Dr. Gerin-Lajoie died suddenly without seeing the fruits of his many labors to establish Canada as a leader in international women’s health and to put FIGO on the map internationally w6x.

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´ Following the death of Prof. Gerin-Lajoie, FIGO Vice-President Prof. Raymond Keller, of Strasbourg, became President of FIGO in 1959. Unfortunately, Prof. Keller became ill and was unable to take a leadership role in the organization of the 1961 FIGO congress, in Vienna, nor was he able to attend it, and he died shortly thereafter.

Fig. 4. Prof. Raymond Keller, France.

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1961–1964 Howard C. Taylor, Jr. (Fig 5) Howard C. Taylor, Jr., was, in his time—in the view of foreign and, especially, European gynecologists—the most respected US academic leader in gynecology and obstetrics. Over the years his many students, assistants, and collaborators formed a school, and the medical faculty of the ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center in New York remembers him in the following way w7x: Howard Taylor, chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at P&S (Presbyterian and Sloane) from 1946 to 1965, created a new department and revolutionized American obstetrics and gynecology. He had great intelligence and energy but the qualities that made him unique were original thought, a gift for recognizing and solving problems, and uncanny foresight. Prof. Taylor early established himself as a leader, winning top grades at school, graduating summa cum laude from Yale University, leading his class at P&S (Class of 1924), becoming an outstanding gynecologic surgeon, making major scientific contributions, and being appointed chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the

Fig. 5. Prof. Howard C. Taylor Jr., USA (1900–1985).

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University of Pennsylvania—all before the age of 40. From 1929 to 1946 he studied gynecologic and breast cancer at New York’s Memorial Hospital, where he was Gynecologist-in-Charge from 1943 to 1946. He simultaneously became chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York University. Assuming the P&S chairmanship in 1946 (he was also chief of Presbyterian Hospital’s Obstetrical and Gynecological Services, director of the Sloane Hospital for Women, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and, later, Willard C. Rappleye Professor Emeritus), he transformed a solidly clinical department into a unit where scientists and clinicians worked harmoniously. Medical students excelled in their course of studies: 21 of his residents became department chairmen. Prof. Taylor attracted an excellent house staff: long concerned that the field of obstetrics and gynecology did not attract talented medical school graduates, he worked with the Josiah Macy Foundation to provide funds for Macy Scholars in academic ObstetricsyGynecology departments, enabling residents to spend a year or more studying reproductive sciences. Prof. Taylor’s scientific work spanned 50 years, 1929 to 1979. His first paper reported ways to predict the clinical behavior of ovarian tumors from their histologic appearance. In 1932 he was first to show systematically the connection between endometrial hyperplasia and uterine carcinoma. In the 1930s he and others devised a method of measuring blood levels of estrogen in an effort to link sex hormones with gynecologic and breast disorders— this was perhaps the first clinical use of blood estrogen. In 1949 Prof. Taylor identified a new clinical syndrome relating abdominal pain in women to pelvic vascular congestion. Arguably, he made his most far-reaching contribution in ‘Social Obstetrics’ by introducing the seemingly simple idea that the cheapest, most effective way to approach family planning in developing countries was to integrate birth control instruction with maternity services. Taylor did much as an educator. In 1945 he wrote a prophetic book, The Mission of a Medical

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School. From the 1930s to the 1950s he publicly advocated birth control, long before it was respectable in academic circles, for which he won the 1954 Lasker Award. As an officer of the American Cancer Society, he publicized the relation between smoking and lung cancer—in 1959, 5 years before the Surgeon General’s report. In 1961, he published a revolutionary volume on how to recruit talent for medical school departments. As co-editor, then chief editor, of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1953–1969), he introduced a peer-review system for scientific articles, making the Journal the most read and most authoritative in the field. Nationally and internationally Dr. Taylor’s influence could be measured by his membership in approximately 40 prestigious ObstetricsyGynecology societies, which he served variously as founder, president, or honorary member. A more accurate and telling picture of him emerges from an account of how he spent his last two decades, from 1965 to 1985, after officially retiring as chairman at P&S. He kept on innovating, producing one more book and 30 more papers. (In all, he wrote 186 articles and three books.) Immediately after retirement, he assumed the directorship of the International Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction at P&S, which he had founded and for which he raised much of the necessary money from the National Institutes of Health and Ford and the Rockefeller foundation. The Institute comprised the Center for Reproductive Sciences and the Center for Population and Family Health. Today, the Institute thrives, with 75 scientists in diverse fields. Leaving the Institute at 70 years of age, he was appointed senior consultant to the Population Council and spent much of the next decade traveling widely throughout the developing world, putting into practice his idea of connecting family planning programs to maternity services. P&S did not forget him during this time, giving him the Alumni Gold Medal for Excellence in 1975. It was not easy for medical students and junior residents to reconcile Prof. Taylor’s patrician, somewhat forbidding exterior, with the radical reformer, many of whose advanced ideas were

strongly resisted by his professional peers when he first put them forward. His manner was formal but not distant; he was loved by his house staff and revered by his colleagues. Born into old New York society (his father was a distinguished gynecologist and, for a time, Gynecologist-in-Chief at Roosevelt Hospital, where the younger Taylor trained), Dr. Taylor was politically liberal. In science and medicine, he was a revolutionary: all his life he operated at a level 25 to 40 years ahead of his time. His home in Southport, Connecticut, designed by an avant-garde architect, was startlingly modernistic. When he left his P&S chairmanship he must have known that he had built the leading scientific obstetrical department in the country. Moreover, he provided the main impetus that brought science into academic obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. Characteristically for him, stepping down as chairman at P&S was only the beginning. Together with Prof. Fred L. Adair, from Chicago, Prof. F. Ch. van Tongeren, from the Netherlands, and Prof. Hubert de Watteville, from Switzerland, Howard Taylor drafted the concept of an International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (later to become FIGO) at the 1950 International Congress in New York. He was active from the very beginning of FIGO in 1954 and chaired the Third Congress in Vienna, owing to the ´ death of Prof. L. Gerin-Lajoie, from Canada, the second President of FIGO, and to the unavailability of Prof. Raymond Keller, from France, the third president of FIGO. The Secretary-General of FIGO, Prof. H. de Watteville, proposed that Prof. Howard C. Taylor, Jr., step in, moderate the Vienna Congress, and be elected the fourth President of FIGO. That proposal was received with acclamation by the General Assembly of FIGO in Vienna (September 3–7, 1961). The fourth congress of FIGO in Mar del Plata, Argentina, was chaired by Howard C. Taylor, and it was at this congress that the FIGO emblem, adapted from the logo of the Argentina Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was used for the first time. (We thank the following individuals for providing information for this biographical note: Geor-

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giana Jagiello, the Virgil G. Damon Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Allen G. Rosenfield, Dean of the School of Public Health; Seymour Lieberman, Professor emeritus of Biochemistry and

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Molecular Biophysics; Equinn Munnell, M.D.; Howard C. Taylor III (Dr. Taylor’s son and a 1955 P&S graduate; and the administrative staff of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, P&S.)

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Fig. 6. Prof. Giuseppe Tesauro, Italy (1898–1988).

1964–1967 Giuseppe Tesauro (Fig 6) Giuseppe Tesauro was born in Avellino on June 21, 1898, and graduated from the University of Naples in 1920. He then entered the field of scientific medicine at the Institute of Physiology in Naples, in the department of Prof. F. Bottazzi. He received his obstetrical and gynecologic training at the University of Naples (Clinica Ginecologia e Ostetrica, department of Prof. C. Miranda) and, early in his career, was chairman in Sassari (1935– 1936) and Messina (1936–1943) before he followed his teacher to the University of Naples in 1943. He stayed there until his retirement. Although the war had already receded to Northern Italy in 1943, the clinic in Naples was largely destroyed and scientific work blocked for many years. Prof. Tesauro designed the reconstruction of his clinic, founded new laboratories, and

enhanced scientific redevelopment. It was in Naples that the first Italian blood bank was instituted. His main scientific interest was the incompatibility of Rh factors between mother and newborn. He established transfusion therapy in neonates with Rh disease; moreover, he introduced, in Italy, precancer screening via cytological smears, as devised by Papanicolaou. Prof. Tesauro edited a textbook on obstetrics (Vallardi, Milano, 1961), a concise manual of diagnostics (UTET, Torino, 1963), a larger textbook on gynecology (IDA, Roma, 1970) and some essays on the culture and history of our discipline. He was President of the Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (1958–1961) and a member of nationwide academic boards in Italy. His acknowledgment by his fellows culminated in his election as Rector of the University of Naples, an office which he kept for 15 years (1959–1974). He was Cavaliere di Gran Croce al Merito della Repubblica. He continued to be one of the most influential peers of gynecology and obstetrics in Italy and beyond, occasionally serving as an expert in court proceedings on malpractice w8x. His literary interests made him most eligible to create and develop the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics for FIGO. He was the Journal’s first editor (1963–1970). During the fourth FIGO congress in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1964, he was elected President of FIGO, obtaining more votes than a competitor 14 years his junior, A. Alvarez-Bravo, from Mexico (this was the first selection between two candidates by vote of the General Assembly). He took over that office in 1967 at the age of 69 years, and continued afterwards as Chairman of the Committee of Perinatal Mortality (1970–1976). Undoubtedly, Prof. Tesauro was one of FIGO’s most engaged peers during the first two decades of its existence. Prof. Tesauro died April 1, 1988, a few months before reaching his 90th anniversary.

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1967–1970 Alfonso Alvarez-Bravo (Fig 7) Alfonso Alvarez-Bravo was born in Mexico City on July 7, 1913. He graduated from the School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in 1937. He started his teaching career as Professor of Medical Physics. After his internship, he received the appointment of surgeon and soon became a professor. His instruction aimed at introducing clinical surgery. Investigating, learning, and teaching came easily to the young physician, who was deeply attracted to the practice of surgery and who, within a few years, excelled not only in gynecologic surgery, but also in surgical procedures of the digestive tract—including the osophagus, bile duct, stomach, and colon. In 1947, he was appointed Assistant Professor. His profound concern for the surgical and medical therapeutic procedures in this field matched his dedication to the study of gynecologic pathology. During World War II, he was one of several young physicians from the General Hospital in Mexico City who were offered the opportunity to study in the United States and work side by side

Fig. 7. Prof. Alfonso Alvarez-Bravo, Mexico (1913–1996).

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with such well-known gynecologists as George N. Papanicoalou and Isidor Rubin in New York, and endocrinologist Fuller Albright in Boston. Returning to Mexico, Prof. Alvarez-Bravo was appointed Chief of the Department of Obstetrics ˜ in Mexico and Gynecology at the Hospital Espanol City in 1947, a position he held for the rest of his life. In 1959, Prof. Dr. Alvarez-Bravo founded the University Course of Specialization in Gynecology and Obstetrics in Mexico and years later, he created the Masters and the Doctorate programs in the Medical Sciences of Gynecology and Obstetrics. At his own expense, Prof. Alvarez-Bravo invited renowned professors from abroad to the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Hospital Espanol in Mexico City for the benefit of his students. This permitted the distinguished visitors to experience the high level of professionalism in the practice and teaching of gynecology and obstetrics in Mexico, affording Prof. Dr. Alvarez-Bravo and his Mexican colleagues international regard. His experience, as expressed in his scientific papers at international meetings (on maternal mortality, oncology, sterility, dystophies and prolapses, to name the important topics of his clinical research) and his unique way of spreading friendship among colleagues, made him a natural leader within the profession. In 1960 he began his 3-year tenure as President of the Latin-American Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FLASOG). One of the achievements of Prof. Alvarez-Bravo was the edition of an extensive film library, which has been used widely in Latin America and Spain to provide instruction on gynecologic surgery. He also became, among other offices, President of the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico w9x. He took part in the foundation of FIGO on behalf of Mexico (1954) and brought into life FIGO’s International Committee on Maternal Mortality, over which he presided for more than 15 years. In 1961 Prof. Alvarez-Bravo was elected 2nd Vice-President of FIGO; after Prof. G. Tesauro’s presidency (1964–1967), he became President, for which he had been candidate for 6 years. Like Prof. H. de Watteville, Prof. H.C. Taylor, and Prof. G. Tesauro, Prof. A. Alvarez-Bravo must also be remembered as one of the leading peers of

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FIGO in its first two decades. That Mexico was named the host of the 8th congress of FIGO (Mexico City, Oct 18–23, 1976) was due to his merit. This second congress in a Latin-American country,

after Mar del Plata in 1964, saw him in good spirits and still very active. Prof. Alvarez-Bravo died from diabetes in 1996, at the age of 88.

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Fig. 8. Prof. Sir John Harold Peel, United Kingdom (1904).

1970–1973 John Harold Peel (Fig 8) Sir John Harold Peel provided the following biographical notes for this history of FIGO presidents. During the Second World War (the ‘Blitzkrieg’ and thereafter) he served as a general surgeon in London. His particular concerns in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology were diabetes in pregnancy, and the development of epidural anesthesia, both of which he brought to the fore in the United Kingdom. As a member of the executive committee of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in London, he served 7 years as the Royal College’s Honorary Treasurer (1959–1966). At that time, he was involved in collecting money for the development of the College, which was founded in 1929 and moved to its permanent home in Regent’s Park in 1960. Sir John Peel traveled extensively, particularly

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to the United States, Canada, India, and Africa on behalf of obstetrics and gynecology. For 3 years he was a visiting professor at Capetown University and served as foreign examiner for American and Canadian medical colleges. He was invited by the RCOG, together with Dr. V.B. Green-Armytage, to represent the United Kingdom at the first meeting of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1954 and was elected President for the term 1966–1969. To a wider circle of Obstetricians, Sir John Peel is known for his ‘caesarean section survey,’ published by the RCOG. He represented the RCOG at the Executive Board of FIGO in 1966, became VicePresident in 1967, and was elected President of FIGO for the term 1970–1973. Sir John Peel acknowledged that the quality of obstetrics is heavily dependent on the quality of and cooperation with midwives. He was Chairman of the Study Group on Training and Practice of Midwives and Maternity Nurses and proposed FIGO’s definition of the midwife as follows (see also Seventh General Assembly of FIGO, Moscow 1973): A midwife is a person who, having been regularly admitted to a midwifery educational program, duly recognized in the country in which it is located, has successfully completed the prescribed courses of studies in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered andyor legally licensed to practice midwifery. On retiring as President of the RCOG in 1969, John Peel was asked to undertake the task of preparing a history of lives of the Fellows, along the same lines as volumes published by two other Royal Colleges, of Physicians and of Surgeons. The completed work was published in 1976 w10x. Sir John Peel was elected Honorary Fellow of the RCOG in 1989. He will celebrate his 100th birthday on December 6, 2004.

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1973–1976 B. N. Purandare (Fig 9)

Balachandra Nikanth Purandare was the first president of FIGO representing the Indian continent and the Asian obstetricians and gynecologists in the Federation. A supporter of FIGO from its very beginning, he was elected President of FIGO at the Sixth General Assembly during the World Congress held in 1970 in New York, and became the first office-bearer with the title of PresidentElect in 1970–1973. Dr. Purandare was the son of an eminent Bombay obstetrician and gynecologist. He graduated from King Edward Memorial Hospital and G. S. Medical College in 1934, completed his postgraduate studies, received his medical degree in 1937, and specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. He later studied in Edinburgh and London, and among his teachers were Prof. Haltain, Sir Victor Bonney, Sir David Wilkei, and Sir John Fraser. Very early

Fig. 9. Dr. Bhalchandra Nilkanth Purandare, India (1911– 1990).

in his career he made scientific and clinical contributions to the Bombay Obstetrical and Gynaecologic Society and to the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies in India (FOGSI). Soon after his return from the United Kingdom, he became Honorary Consultant in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the King Edward Memorial Hospital and the Seth G. S. Medical College in Bombay, where he later became department head. He also was appointed Honorary Obstetrician-Gynaecologist Consultant, and later Dean, at the Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital—which sees approximately 10 000 confinements per year); then he chaired the Postgraduate Institute, and was elected Dean of the Medical Faculty of Bombay University and later President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Prof. Purandare was a keen lover of music and dramatics and could even pilot an aircraft. He was elected to fellowship in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London. B.N. Purandare widely contributed to vaginal surgery, including the Schauta operation. He was known as an excellent, charismatic physician with high standard and infinite cheerfulness. He followed Prof. Subodh Mitra, who was famous for his radical surgery in cervical cancer, as the head of FOGSI, and served on the Executive Board of FIGO after Prof. Mitra’s death during the third World Congress of FIGO in Vienna. Prof. Purandare remained an active contributor to the Executive Board. (see also Third General Assembly of FIGO in Vienna, September 3–7, 1961.) As President of FIGO, Prof. Purandare hosted the Executive Board of FIGO in Bombay in 1975, and delivered the Opening Lecture on the eighth World Congress of FIGO in Mexico City in 1976. Before his retirement from official academic posts at the age of 70 years, he was Honorary Advisor of the State Government in Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health, as well as Technical Advisor on the Union Government in Family Planning. He was honored with the prestigious Padma Bhushan national award by the President of India. In his last years he oversaw the service of his private obstetrics and gynecology clinic near the ocean in Bombay. He died on November 10, 1990, at 79 years old,

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in Bombay, leaving children and grandchildren as devoted to the discipline of obstetrics and gynecology as their predecessors had been.

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(We thank Prof. Shirish Sheth, Past-President of FIGO, for assistance with this biographical note.)

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1976–1979 Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia (Fig 10)

Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia was born in Montevideo on September 26th, 1921. Between 1959 and 1966, he developed methods for registering the contractions of the gravid human uterus and fetal cardiac frequency, and described their characteristics during pregnancy and labor in normal and pathologic conditions. Later, his original conclusions and innovations were confirmed, recognized, and applied all over the world. Dr. Caldeyro carried ´ out his research with Hermogenes Alvarez and other collaborators. Dr. Caldeyro was successively Assistant Teacher of Physiology, Teacher of Physiopathology, and Director of the Physiopathology Department at the School of Medicine, as well as Head of PEDECIBA (Basic Sciences Development Program) in Uruguay. He was given the Bernardo A. Houssay Science Award in recognition for his research on perinatology, and as the developer of a Latin-American School of Perinatology; he was

Fig. 10. Prof. Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia, Uruguay (1921– 1996).

also given the Abraham Herwitz Award—conferred by the Pan-American Organization for Health—in acknowledgement of his achievements on behalf of maternal and infant welfare on the American continent. In 1976, as one of the leading scientists in perinatology, he was elected to lead FIGO. All the preceding presidents of FIGO had been clinicians and the chief aim of their scientific work was clinical. In Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia, FIGO honored basic science and a non-clinician who, nevertheless, had the greatest influence on the development of fetal surveillance during pregnancy and labor. Labor itself lost many of its mysteries through the work of Prof. Caldeyro-Barcia on uterine activity (‘Montevideo units’). President of FIGO during the ninth World Congress of FIGO (Tokyo, Oct 27–31, 1979), Prof. Caldeyro-Barcia was an inspired moderator and a rhetorically brilliant representative of world gynecology, honoring the crown prince of Japan at the opening ceremony as well as congress President S. Sakamoto, the Japanese hosts, and the many attending colleagues from all over the world. Prof. Caldeyro-Barcia died in Montevideo on November 2, 1996. He remains one of the most famous Latin-American scientists.

Fig. 11. The National Administration of Posts of Uruguay paid homage to remarkable Uruguayan physicians, among them Professor Caldeyro-Barcia, issuing a stamp in his honor on December 19, 1998.

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1979–1982 Keith Palmer Russell (Fig 12, Fig 13)

Keith Russell was born on May 23, 1916, in Baker, Oregon (USA) and attended secondary school in Portland. He received his B.S. degree from Oregon State University and, in 1939, his medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School. After his internship at Multnomah Hospital in Portland, he became assistant surgeon at the Portland Clinic, and was on the attending staff of St. Vincent’s Hospital as well as Instructor at the University of Oregon Medical School in Public Health. His entry into gynecology and obstetrics did not occur before 1943, when he moved to Los Angeles. There he became associated with the Department of the Moore-White Clinic, where he spent all of his active years as obstetrician-gynecologist. He held the position of

Fig. 12. Prof. Keith Palmer Russell, USA (1916–1996), at the Centennial Meeting of the American Gynecological Society, Hot Springs, Virginia, 1976. To his right Woodard Beecham (From Transactions of the American Gynecological Society St. Louis, Mosby, 1976).

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Senior Attending Obstetrician-Gynecologist at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center, and was then appointed as Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Prof. Russell was among the most renowned gynecologists living on the West Coast of the United States, and his clinical leadership was well recognized. Although he never focused on basic science or laboratory research, he authored textbook chapters and more than 70 other publications. He served the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as president twice, first when he succeeded W.E. Brown first who died in office in 1969, and then when he was chosen in 1970 to actually replace him. He also held official functions with several associations: the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (over which he presided between 1975 and 1976); the American Medical Association (he was Chairman of its Committee on Maternal and Child Care in 1974); and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (as associate examiner). His relation with FIGO began when he was US representative to the Federation in 1973. Subse-

Fig. 13. Keith P. Russell wearing the FIGO presidential chain at the World Congress in San Francisco in 1982.

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quently, he was elected President of FIGO in 1976 for the term 1979–1982 w11x. During Prof. Russell’s presidency, M. Fathalla and A. Rosenfield edited the Teaching Manual on Human Reproduction, the first work published by FIGO that has been used as textbook in many universities, especially in the developing world.

The respect Keith Russell enjoyed among his American colleagues for his professional judgment and abilities strengthened the relationship between ACOG and FIGO. He died in December 1996 at the age of 80 years. (We thank Prof. Harold A. Kaminetzky (USA) for reviewing this paragraph.)

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1982–1985 Claude Sureau (Fig 14)

Claude Sureau was born on Sept 27, 1927. He pursued his medical studies at the University of Paris and was a resident of the Paris Hospitals from 1949 to 1955. His doctoral thesis, defended in 1955, was devoted to the electrophysiology of the uterus. He spent the 1955–1956 academic year at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, as a Visiting Fellow. He then studied general biology, anthropology, and psychophysiology, and in 1963 received a scientific degree from the Sorbonne. He was a Paris Hospitals Assistant Professor and Assistant Attending Physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology (1956–1961); Associate Professor and Associate Attending Physician (1961–1974); Professor and Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Hospital, Paris (1974–1976); Professor and Chairman, University Clinic Baudelocque, and Chair of Obstetrics and Pathophysiology of Reproduction (1976– 1989); Director of Unit 262, Physiology and Pathophysiology of Reproduction, National Insti-

Fig. 14. Prof. Claude Sureau, France (1927–).

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tute of Health and Medical Research (1983– 1990); Unit Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Hospital of Paris (1991– 1993); Director of Medical Affairs, American Hospital of Paris (1994–1995); and President of the Theramex Institute, Bioethics, Women’s Health and Society, since 1996. Claude Sureau’s clinical work has always been equally devoted to obstetric and gynecologic activities. Claude Sureau has also been deeply involved with teaching both medical students and midwives. Since the beginning of his career, however, his research has been mostly in the field of obstetrics. The work for his doctoral thesis led him to demonstrate a lack of permanent location for pacemaker activity within the uterus during labor, as well as a lack of fundal dominance or strict descending gradient of the uterine forces. Moreover, the invention of a specially designed electrode, to be introduced into the uterine cavity, inside or outside the membranes, allowed him to record for the first time complete fetal electrocardiograms, with P and T waves clearly recognizable (1955). He was also able to demonstrate that the heart rate of a healthy fetus was stable during uterine contractions and he fought strongly against (the misleading concept of) ‘physiologic’ decelerations. He later developed the concept of quantitative evaluation of the decelerations (dip areas, residual bradycardia), and described the ‘sinusoidal’ fetal heart rate (1972). He was also involved in studies on Doppler velocimetry, induction of labor, use of prostaglandins, prevention of prematurity, immunology of reproduction, etc., while director of a research unit at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research. He has published more than 600 articles in national and international journals as well as several books for both specialists and lay people, and has gone on missions and attended conferences in a large number of countries in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. His clinical and scientific activity have led him to perform important functions, both nationally and internationally.

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Nationally, he is a member of the French Academy of Surgery and of the French Academy of Medicine, which he chaired in 2000. He founded and chaired the French Society of Perinatal Medicine, and has also been a member of the National Committee of Reproductive Biology and Medicine and of the High Council of Family and Population. ´ He is now Commander of the Legion d’Honneur. Internationally, he has chaired the Federation of French-Speaking Gynecologists and Obstetricians, and is an honorary member and fellow of numerous medical and obstetrics and gynecology societies, including the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (London), the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Deutsche Gesells¨ ¨ Gynakologie chaft fur und Geburtshilfe, and the Royal Academy (Belgium). He became involved in the activities of FIGO very early (as representative of France, as a member of several committees, and then as Deputy Secretary General). Claude Sureau was elected President of FIGO (1979) for the period of 1982–1985. During his term, he was particularly concerned with the work of an ad hoc committee for the amendments to the Constitution and Bye-Laws, which were accepted by the General Assembly in Berlin in 1985. These responsibilities led him also to the creation—together with Sir Rustam Feroze, Hans Lud¨¨ wig, and Markku Seppala—of the European Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (EAGO) which he chaired between 1988 and 1991. The Association was to be an all-European institution similar to other continental federations such as FLASOG, the Asia-Oceania Association, FOGSI, or the ACOG-Canadian Union of ObstetriciansyGynecologists in North America.

In 1985, the General Assembly of FIGO accepted the creation of a Standing Committee for the Study of Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction, which was proposed, discussed, and accepted by the Executive Board. Claude Sureau chaired this Committee from 1985 to 1994 (see also J.G. Schenker and J.M. Cain: International Medical Ethics). The Standing Committee met 13 times during this period and issued 14 recommendations. Claude Sureau’s term of office was marked by an important meeting held in Paris in the UNESCO building. Its proceedings were published under the title Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction. These responsibilities led Claude Sureau to be fully involved in a work of reflection and action concerning the ethical and legal aspects of medical activity, chiefly, but not exclusively, in the reproductive field, both in France and abroad. His concerns were not only medical but also technical and political, and included the relationship between patients and the medical profession as well as the legal, ethical, and philosophical aspects of in vitro fertilization, prenatal diagnosis, and obstetrical ´ care. His books include Aux debuts de la vie (1990); Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction (1995); Ethical Dilemmas in Assisted Reproduction (1997); Ethical Problems in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1999); Alice au pays des clones (1999); Ethical Dilemmas in Reproduction (2002); Fallait-il tuer l’enfant Foucault? (2003); and ´ L’Humanisme medical (2003). This activity is a part of his present duties as President of the Theramex Institute, Bioethics, Women’s Health and Society. (This biographical note is based on information from Prof. Sureau.)

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1985–1988 Shan Ratnam (Fig 15)

Born in Sri Lanka on July 4, 1928, Shan S. Ratnam received an MBBS with honors from the University of Ceylon in Colombo. He soon moved to Singapore and was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the (then called) University of Singapore at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital. He pursued his postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom and returned to Singapore in 1965, having obtained Membership in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG) and the FRCS Edinburgh (Obstetrics and Gynecology), FRCS Glasgow (Surgery), and FRCS England (General Surgery). In 1970, the National University of Singapore appointed him Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a position he held for 25 years, resigning in July 1995. Many of his friends and fellows from the international ObstetricsyGynecology community attended andy or held lectures at his Valedictory Symposium in November 1996 in Singapore. He was made Fellow of the Royal College (FRCOG) in 1972 and fellow of the Royal Aus-

Fig. 15. Prof. Shan S. Ratnam, Singapore (1928–2001).

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tralian College of Surgeons in 1977. He received honorary fellowships from the colleges and societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Australia, West Africa, the United States (ACOG), Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. In 1988, the National University of Singapore appointed him Director of the School of Postgraduate Medical Studies. Under his leadership, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the National University of Singapore rose to a position of international excellence in research while providing exemplary patient care and teaching. Beside holding leading positions in local and regional boards and academies, Prof. Ratnam has been Secretary-General of the Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Taking into account his immense influence on the quality of obstetrics and gynecology in that region, FIGO elected him President in 1982 for the period 1985– 1988. In 1988 he also became President of the FIGO supporting institution SOFIGO, and was the Asia and Oceania representative for the International Association for Maternal and Neonatal Health (IAMANEH), founded in 1977 by Prof. Hubert de Watteville. Prof. Ratnam’s publications include some 596 articles in international refereed journals, as well as his contributions to local and regional journals. He wrote more than one hundred textbook chapters and gave numerous presentations at national and international gatherings. In his early years as a gynecologist, Prof. Ratnam gave his attention to the plight of subfertile women, pioneering the field of reproductive biology. He initiated the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Program in Singapore, and subsequently led a team of renowned clinicians and scientists as they achieved Asia’s first birth after in vitro fertilization in 1983; Asia’s first GIFT (Gamete IntraFallopian Tube Transfer) baby in 1986; and Asia’s first live birth from a frozen embryo after microinjection in 1989. He was the head of the team who reported the first infant born via human ampullary ooculture in 1991. Prof. Ratnam also made significant contributions to the surgical procedures for gender reassignment.

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This surgery became an accepted mode of treatment and Ratnam’s innovative techniques, both in female and male patients, are widely described. In 1988, on Singapore’s National Awards Day, he was honored with the Public Services Star. Prof. Ratnam’s contributions to the National University of Singapore were acknowledged when he was made Emeritus Professor in 1996, and, subsequently, in 2000, with the endowment of the Shan S. Ratnam Professorship, which will be

awarded annually to internationally recognized specialists in obstetrics and gynecology. Shan Ratnam was a kind and industrious man, full of modesty despite his many scientific and clinical achievements. After retirement, he continued to serve as a professorial fellow, remaining active in spite of his poor health following a mild stroke at the end of 1999. He died on August 6, 2001, in Singapore and the gynecologic community was saddened by this news worldwide w12x.

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1988–1991 Jose´ Aristodemo Pinotti (Fig 16) Jose´ Aristodemo Pinotti was born on December 20, 1934, the son of a Brazilian dental surgeon and a public health educator. He received his medical degree from the Sao Paulo University Medical School and became a resident in Gynecology and ´ Obstetrics at the Perola Byington Hospital. He completed his postgraduate training in Firenze (with Prof. Ingiulla), Milan (Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Prof. Veronesi), and Paris (Institut Gustave Roussy, Prof. Denoix). After his return to Brazil, Pinotti spent his academic career at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the State University of Sao Paulo (USP). Prof. Pinotti combined a medical and a political career. He was Head Professor and Director of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of UNICAMP (1972–1982); Executive Director of the Center for Integral Assistance to Women’s Health (CAISIM), UNICAMP (1987–1991); President of UNICAMP 1982–1986; President of the Brazilian Association for Human Reproduction and Maternal-Infantile Nutrition (RENUM) (1975–1986); Minister of Education, State of Sao Paulo (1986– 1987); and Minister of Health, Coordinator of the Unified and Decentralized System of Health (SUDS), State of Sao Paulo (1987–1991).

Fig. 16. Prof. Jose´ Aristodemo Pinotti, Brazil (1934–).

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At present, Prof. Pinotti is Head of Gynecology and President of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Council, University of Sao Paulo, School of Medicine, and also a Federal Congress Representative of Sao Paulo at the Brazilian Congress (since 2002). He is known as the author of numerous scientific reports (425 national and 113 international) and 54 textbooks, some of them distributed throughout Latin America, Portugal, and Spain. His topics are, among others, the relationship between the number of ovulatory menstrual cycles and the risk of breast cancer; screening for cervical cancer; women’s reproductive health; various surgical techniques including endoscopic vaginal suspension; and distribution of blood volume between placenta and newborn. He has been internationally known for many years through his work on breast cancer surgery, especially the combination of radical surgery with immediate reconstruction. Recently, he introduced the technique of transsurgical cytohistologic monitorization of margins in quadrantectomies, which reduces the incidence of total recurrence from 7.3 to 0.8% and considerably improves prognosis. In addition to his scientific work, Prof. Pinotti is a poet. Prof. Pinotti was the first chairman of the FIGO Committee for the Study of the Female Breast (1979). This office was not without difficulties because gynecologists from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries were reluctant to include breast surgery in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. His commitment, however, received strong support from continental European societies, especially from the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Prof. Jose´ Aristodemo Pinotti was proposed to be President of FIGO from a majority of the FLASOG societies, his opponent being Carlos MacGregor from Mexico (1985). He was elected for the period 1988–1991. Meanwhile he served FIGO as President of the 12th World Congress, held in late October of 1988 in Rio de Janeiro. J.A. Pinotti’s rhetoric is multilingual and brilliant. His amicability made him many friends

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around the world. His success as FIGO president was enhanced by his culture and warm generosity. He is the father of two daughters (one tragically deceased) and one son. His daughter Marianne is

following in her paternal footsteps into academic gynecology. (This biographical note was based in part on information from Prof. Pinotti.)

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1991–1994 John J. Sciarra (Fig 17)

Born on March 4, 1932, in West Haven, Conn, USA, John J. Sciarra graduated from Yale University in 1953. He received his medical degree in 1957, then his Ph.D. in Anatomy, from Columbia University. A 1957–1958 internship at the Yale Medical Center New Haven, Conn, was followed by a residency and a fellowship at Presbyterian Hospital and Sloan Hospital for Women, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NY, from 1958 to 1965. He was appointed Thomas J. Watkins Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Northwestern University Medical School in 1974, as well as Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Prof. Sciarra’s worldwide influence on gynecology and obstetrics is due in part to his vast experience as an editor of textbooks and journals. Since 1973, Prof. Sciarra has edited the six-volume series Gynecology and Obstetrics (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins); he has written or co-authored more than 120 scientific papers and written or edited 16 scientific books in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, family planning, and contraceptive development.

Fig. 17. Prof. John J. Sciarra, USA (1932–).

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Among his many services to FIGO, Prof. ‘Jack’ Sciarra was the US delegate to the Executive Board of FIGO (1984–1989). In 1988 he was elected President of FIGO for 1991–1994. As President, he worked tirelessly on behalf of FIGO and in collaboration with the World Health Organization, to improve maternal and child health worldwide. In 1997 he served as chairman of the FIGO Scientific Programme Committee for the 15th World Congress in Copenhagen, and he continued his commitment to FIGO by presiding over the fund-raising arm of FIGO (SOFIGO) from 1995 until 2003. In 1985 he was appointed editor of the FIGO journal, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, succeeding Harold A. Kaminetzky. IJGO, which was founded in the days of Prof. G. Tesauro (1963–1970), its first editor, has flourished under Prof. Sciarra’s leadership. He has served as Chairman of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on International Affairs and, over the decades, has worked to strengthen the ties between ACOG and FIGO. Among the many honors Prof. Sciarra has received for his contributions to his profession, the most notable are his admission to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (London) as Fellow ad eundem, and his Honorary Degree in Surgery and Medicine bestowed by the University of Genoa (Italy), both in 1992. At present, Prof. Sciarra is an active proponent of FIGO on his many visits as an invited speaker to Obstetrical and Gynecologic Societies worldwide. He continues to be concerned with the involvement of FIGO and its constituent societies in the social issues affecting the health and wellbeing of women and their families in the developing world. It was he who suggested restructuring FIGO’s administration to keep it current and effective in serving the organization, planning for the world congresses, fundraising to support FIGO’s many initiatives, and assuring effective communication with FIGO member societies. (This biographical note is based on notes from Dr. Sciarra.)

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1994–1997 Mahmoud F. Fathalla (Fig 18)

Born on May 1, 1935 in Sharkiah, Egypt, Mahmoud F. Fathalla received his medical degree from the University of Cairo in 1962 and later his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, where he studied human ovarian tumors. In 1972, he was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Assiut, Egypt. He introduced gynecological laparoscopy to Egypt. In 1978 he was elected Dean of the Assiut Medical School and held that office until 1986. Between 1989 and 1992 he was Director of the UNDP, the UNFPA, the World Bank, and the WHO Special Programme of Research and Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction. In 1992, he was appointed Senior Advisor in Biomedical and Reproductive Health at the Rockefeller Foundation and held this position through 1999. Prof. Fathalla is the author of more than 90 articles published in scientific journals. He co-edited with Allan Rosenfield the FIGO Manual of Human Reproduction (FIGOyCenter of Population and Family Health, Columbia University, New York,

Fig. 18. Prof. Mahmoud F. Fathalla, Egypt (1935–).

1990); he edited the first World Report on Women’s Health (1994); authored From Obstetrics and Gynecology to Women’s Health: The Road Ahead (Parthenon, 1997); and, with R. Cook and B. Dickens, co-authored Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics and Law (Oxford University Press, 2003). Fathalla developed a theory on the causation of ovarian tumors in relation to incessant ovulation (1971) w13,14x, which provided a basis for the protective effect from ovarian cancer of the combined oral contraceptive pill. He is the author of the concept of Road to Maternal Death, produced by WHO as a teaching video; he contributed to the first definition and promotion of the concept of Reproductive Health through a number of publications, which helped to provide a basis for reshaping the agenda for Population and Development. Prof. Fathalla is the founder of the Safe Motherhood Initiative. He has received many honors, among them an honorary ACOG fellowship, the appointment of fellow ad eundem by the Royal College (London), and honorary doctorates from Uppsala, Helsinki, and Toronto. Prof. Fathalla’s ties to FIGO began when he was a member of the Executive Board as representative of the Egyptian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was appointed chairman of the Committee on Socio-Medical Aspects of Human Reproduction (1979–1982). When he became a Director of WHO, he was responsible for the close links between WHO and FIGO through his chairmanship of the FIGOyWHO Task Force on Maternal and Child Health in Primary Health Care. He held this position until 1997. Mahmoud Fathalla’s commitment to Maternal and Child Health through international organizations has made him a prominent member of FIGO’s Executive Board. It also resulted in his election to leadership positions in the Scientific Programme Committee for the 11th Congress (Berlin, 1985), as Vice-President (1985–1988), and as President for the 1994–1997 period. Until 1991, the sequence of rotation regarding the region of origin of presidents was the following: Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia-Oceania. To make the election of Mahmoud

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Fathalla conclusive during the 1991 FIGO World Congress in Singapore, Africa and the Near East were instituted as a fifth world region. Prof. Fathalla was elected because of his longstanding experience with FIGO in various capacities, the ties he has personally created between FIGO and WHO, and his dedication to the plight of poor women in the developing world. Mahmoud Fathalla pursued his vision throughout his term as president of FIGO (1994–1997). The following is an excerpt from M. Fathalla’s Hubert de Watteville Lecture (Washington, 2000): The Challenge: Making motherhood safe for all women is a challenge to obstetricians worldwide. We know that it is not an easy challenge, and I conclude with three messages: ● First, think about the reward. We, obstetricians, do not get our reward from reading

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statistics. We get our rewards in the happy faces of proud mothers with their healthy children, in all parts of the world. ● Then, when you think that the task is difficult, recall the words of one of the great women of this country – Eleanor Roosevelt: ‘We should do the things that are difficult to do. The future belongs to those who realize the beauty of their dreams.’ ● Then, when you think that we need a lot to make it happen, take comfort from the words of Jesus Christ in the Sermon of the Mount: ‘Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.’ (This biographical note is based on information from Prof. Fathalla.)

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¨ ¨ (Fig 19) 1997–2000 Markku Seppala

¨ ¨ was born on May 16, 1936, in Markku Seppala Helsinki. He received his medical degree in 1964 and Ph.D. in 1965 from the University of Helsinki. After his residency at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Central Hospital, Helsinki (1966–1969), he was appointed Senior Lecturer (1970–1975) and Associate Professor (1976–1978). He continued his scientific career at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, London (1979–1980), was appointed Chairman of the first Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, in 1979, and ¨ ¨ also held this position until 1999. Prof. Seppala served as Member of the Board of Administrators at the University Central Hospital in Helsinki. As an emeritus professor he is now Senior Research Advisor at Biomedicum, University of Helsinki. ¨ ¨ major research interests are Markku Seppala’s the roles of embryonic, fetal, and placental proteins in cancer and fetal development; endometrial pro-

¨ ¨ Finland (1936–). Fig. 19. Prof. Markku Seppala,

tein secretion; growth factors and their binding proteins; and carbohydrate ligands in cell attachment and reproduction. He has contributed to elucidating the links between fetal growth and cancer development, which occur via similar biochemical pathways. The results of his research in basic and applied biochemistry have been published in more than 380 papers, 5 books, and some 100 review articles that brought him worldwide respect. The many citations to his work made him one of the top researchers (SCI 2002) in gynecology and obstetrics. ¨ ¨ has received many honors, among Prof. Seppala them the Fellowship ad eundem of the Royal College (1989), the honorary fellowship of ACOG (1996), the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, (Cincinnati, 1997). He was awarded the Knight of the First Order of the Finnish White Rose by the President of the Republic of Finland in 1992. ¨ ¨ was one of the four founding Prof. Seppala members of the European Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians wEAGOx—the others being Sir Rustam Feroze, Claude Sureau and Hans Ludwig—and he was its president between 1994 and 1997. ¨ ¨ was on the Executive Board of Prof. Seppala FIGO as representative of Finland (1985–1994) and was elected President of FIGO in 1994 for the 1997–2000 term of office. He continued the ongoing efforts to restructure FIGO, concentrating the work of the various FIGO Committees and influencing the remodeling of the FIGO Secretariat in London. Under his presidency, Mr. Bryan Thomas was appointed Executive Administrative Secretary to succeed Mrs. Chantal Pradier. Throughout his term as President of FIGO, Prof. ¨ ¨ was guided by his adherence to basic sciSeppala ence and maintained a rational distance to matters at hand. He delivered the Hubert de Watteville Memorial lecture in Santiago de Chile (2003). Despite his strong support for evidence-based med¨ ¨ is a warm-hearted physician icine, Markku Seppala with a charming personality. He is devoted to the aims of FIGO, in particular to women’s health in

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the developing world where primary medical care still plays a greater role than scientific-based medicine. Through his commitment to the disadvantaged, he has strengthened the Save Motherhood

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Initiative, which gained recognition and sponsorships under his guidance. (This biographical note was based on informa¨¨ tion from Prof. Seppala.)

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2000–2003 Shirish Sheth (Fig 20)

Born on January 6, 1938, Shirish Sheth received his medical training at the University of Mumbai (former Bombay), India, and was awarded Gold Medals and Prizes during his medical career. After graduation and his residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he became an undergraduate teacher in 1964 and a postgraduate teacher in 1966, and remained in these teaching positions until 1994. Shirish Sheth was appointed Honorary Professor for Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the King Edwards Memorial Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai, and remained there until 1994. He is still Consultant Gynaecologist at the Breach Candy Hospital and Research Center and Honorary Gynaecologist and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Sir Hurkisondas Nurrotamdas Hospital in Mumbai. Prof. Sheth has published more than 140 papers in national and international journals. He published Menorrhagia (1999) with Ch. Sutton and Vaginal Hysterectomy (2002) with J.W.W. Studd. Prof.

Fig. 20. Prof. Shirish Sheth (1938–).

Sheth’s contributions on the utero-cervical broad ligament space—the Sheth space or surgical window w15x—on the cervico-fundal sign—the Sheth sign w16,17x—and on the pneumo-surgical pack w18x and the Sheth adnexal clamp for salpingooophorectomy during vaginal hysterectomy w19x have won international recognition. He has educated gynecologic surgeons in many parts of the world by performing vaginal hysterectomies at workshops and master classes in London (UK), Malaysia, Egypt, Singapore, and South Africa. From 1977 to 1983, during the weekend, he performed more than 15,000 laparoscopic sterilizations as a Community Service contribution. Prof. Sheth has been on the board of several Indian and international journals we.g. the Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1988– 1990) and the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (since 2001)x. He has received many awards, among them the Gold Medal 2000—Doctor of the Millennium of Indian Council of Management Executives. He was awarded the Fellowship ad eundem by the Royal College (London, 1996), and fellowships or memberships in Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of Brazil, Chile, Canada, Yugoslavia, Nigeria, and Poland. His Indian colleagues elected him President of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) (1990–1991) and in that position, he represented the Indian Societies at the Executive Board of FIGO (1991–1997). At the 15th General Assembly of FIGO during the Congress in Copenhagen (1997), Prof. Sheth was elected President for the term 2000–2003. The two competitors, over whom he won the majority vote, were S. Sakamoto, from Japan, and J. O’Loughlin, from Australia. Prof. Sheth is the second President of FIGO from India. To begin a FIGO presidency in 2000 was a much more difficult task than it was in 1973, when B.N. Purandare began his. During his term, Prof. Sheth organized international cooperation for the benefit of women with obstetric fistulas, and introduced an Audit Committee and a Board of Publications; most importantly, the FIGO Global Fund for Women’s Health was launched during his tenure.

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Prof. Sheth asserted his style by governing FIGO in an amicable and collegial way, and set an example for his successors.

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(This biographical note was based on information from Prof. Seth.)

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Fig. 21. Prof. Arnaldo Acosta (1942–).

2003–2006 Arnaldo Acosta (Fig 21) Born in Asuncion, Paraguay, Prof. Acosta graduated from the National University of Asuncion. He completed his internship in the USA (Danbury Hospital, Danbury, Conn.), and residencies in Obstetrics and Gynecology first at the Millard Fillmore Hospital New York, State University at Buffalo, then at the Baylor College of Medicine in

Houston (1969–1972), where he received a Fellowship of Infertility and Endocrinology (1973– 1974). At Baylor, he was appointed Associate Professor. Returning to Paraguay, he was elected Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the National University of Assuncion. Prof. Acosta is the editor of 7 books and has published numerous original and review articles in national and international journals. His scientific interest focuses on gynecologic endocrinology and treatment of infertility; he became President of the Latin-American Chapter of the American Federation of Fertility and Sterility (1990–1998), of the Latin-American Federation of Fertility and Sterility wFLASEFx (1993–1996) and, immediately thereafter, of the Latin-American Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology wFLASOGx (1996–1999), as the two other FIGO Presidents from Latin America had done before him (A. Alvarez-Bravo; J.A. Pinotti). His relations with FIGO started during his term as President of FLASOG. Most Latin-American societies nominated him as candidate for Presidency of FIGO, and he was elected in 2000 in Washington for the term of 2003–2006. (This biographical note is based on information from Prof. Acosta.)

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Dorothy Shaw, President-elect, 2003–2006 (Fig 22)

During the General Assembly of FIGO, Dorothy Shaw (Canada) was appointed President-Elect, to become President of FIGO for the term 2006– 2009. She is Clinical Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Medical Genetics of the University of British Columbia. Dr. Shaw was the Chair of the FIGO Committee for Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights from 2000 to 2003, and is a Past-President of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

Fig. 22. Prof. Dorothy Shaw, (Canada)

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