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Mil. Med. Sci. Lett. (Voj. Zdrav. Listy) 2016, vol. 85(1), p. 44-46
ISSN 0372-7025
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Professor S.W.A. GUNN, MD, MS, FRCSC, FRCSI (Hon),
DSc (Hon), dr. h. c.
A 90TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE
In February of this year Professor William Gunn
of Geneva, Switzerland, celebrated a most remark-
able 90th birthday jubilee. A highly respected Canadian
surgeon who enjoys excellent mental and physical
condition, and continues to perform the scientific and
organizational work for which he has long been reco-
gnized throughout the world. A pioneer of medical
emergency systems, Professor Gunn has contributed
greatly to the emergence and evolution of Disaster
Medicine, Humanitarian Medicine, and the expan-
sion of surgical fields in developing and “third
world” countries. He worked closely with officials
for many countries and has continued this collabora-
tion with Czech healthcare and medical educational
institutions; most notably with Charles University
in Prague and the J.E. Purkinje Czech Medical
Association.
William Gunn was born on February 10, 1926,
in British Cyprus, where his father was serving as
Chief Medical Officer of His Majesty's Military
Hospital. William Gunn completed his medical
studies in Geneva; his doctoral thesis dealt with
the haemostatic effects of thrombin in brain surgery,
initial experiments which eventually led to the develop-
ment of the fibrin sealants that are commonly used
in surgery today. However, since 1967, the majority
of his professional career has been devoted
to the World Health Organization (WHO), for which
he has performed such roles as: Director of Emergency
Humanitarian Operations; Cabinet Head for
the Presidents of the World Health Assembly;
Consultant for the Effects of Nuclear War on Health
and Health Services; WHO Adviser to the United
Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the European
Union; Founding President of the WHO Medical
Society; liaison for numerous universities; and a host
of other esteemed positions.
Professor Gunn’s laudable tenure with WHO has
resulted in pioneering advancements in various
fields, including a modern approach to eliminating
or minimizing the public health impact of mass
disasters and catastrophes; his educational programs
have dramatically improved physician and other
health care professionals’ preparedness to provide
medical assistance in extraordinary emergency
conditions. Moreover, he created and persistently
strove for the production of the WHO Emergency
Health Kit to allow rapid response rescue work
in mass casualty events. The contents of these kits
are sufficient to provide 3 months of basic health care
for 10,000 people, and they are stored in convenient
locations throughout the world to ensure rapid
dispatch to a given disaster site.
Professor Gunn has always applied his creative
ingenuity in a most efficacious manner, implement-
ing it with practical applications that continue
to benefit globally operating organizations. In addi-
tion to founding both the European Centre for Disaster
Medicine and the WHO Medical Society, he also co-
founded the World Association for Disaster and
Emergency Medicine (WADEM), the Asia-Pacific
Conferences on Disaster Medicine in Tokyo
(APCDM), the Euro-Mediterranean Council for Burns
and Fire Disasters (MBC), and has served as Presi-
dent of the International Federation of Surgical Col-
leges (IFSC). In 1984, he established and remains
President of the International Association for Humani-
tarian Medicine (IAHM), which bears the name
of Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General
of WHO. The predominant operating principle of this
organization and, in fact, William Gunn’s entire life’s
work, is the premise that health is a basic human right
and serves as a bridge to peace.
Professor Gunn has authored or co-authored
more than 300 professional publications and 20 mono-
graphs, among which, titles such as Humanitarian
Medicine (2005), Understanding the Global Dimen-
sions of Health (2005), and Concepts and Practice
of Humanitarian Medicine (2008). Both editions
of his Dictionary of Disaster Medicine and Humani-
tarian Relief (1990, 2013) are very well known and
widely used in practice throughout the world, and
have been translated into several languages, includ-
ing Japanese and Chinese. Professor Gunn founded
several highly reputable professional journals, for
which he served as Senior Editor for many years, e.g.
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (WADEM), An-
nals of Burns and Fire Disasters (MBC), Disaster
and Military Medicine, and the Journal of Humani-
tarian Medicine (IAHM). He has also been a member
of numerous other editorial boards, and presently
serves as both an expert and consultant.
Due to his many years of interdisciplinary collabo-
ration, Professor Gunn is very highly regarded in nu-
merous national professional circles. His proactive
advisory assistance provided the Czech Republic
with significant incentive to construct a modern
emergency medical services system after 1992, and
to prepare and draft the healthcare sections of Acts
No. 239/2000 Coll. (Integrated Rescue System) and
No. 240/2000 Coll. (Crisis Management). His long-
time collaboration with Burns Medicine practitioners
at the Charles University 3rd Medical Faculty was
fundamentally beneficial to the development of burn
centers in Prague, Ostrava, Brno and Hradec Králové.
Professor Gunn’s career of preeminent, meritori-
ous service and his exceptional personal character
have resulted in a long series of awards and formal
recognition. Among these, it is worth noting that
William Gunn is a Professor affiliated with 3 univer-
sities, and the recipient of the Cross and Ribbon
of the Order of St. Agatha of San Marino, as well as
awards from the Royal Society of Medicine and UN
Economic and Social Council of Europe, for his
many contributions to humanitarian medicine. For in-
troducing essential surgery in the primary healthcare
systems of developing countries he was also awarded
the first Special Fellowship of the Royal College
of Surgeons in Ireland. Professor Gunn holds hono-
rary doctorates from several universities, learned so-
cieties, and medical associations; among which he
was especially delighted to receive a doctorate hono-
oris causa from Charles University in Prague (2004),
and the Commemorative Medal of the J.E. Purkinje
Czech Medical Association (2006). Professor Gunn
is an honorary member of numerous professional so-
cieties around the world. Some examples here in our
own country include the Czech Burns Society;
the Czech Society of Military Physicians, Phar-
macists and Veterinarians; and the J.E. Purkinje
Czech Medical Association. In 2014, he received
the renowned international A. Meneghetti Prize for
his life-long contributions to science and humanism.
In addition to his commendable scientific work in
the aforementioned fields, Professor Gunn possesses
a true Renaissance Personality that is reflected in his
love of history, culture, and the arts. He particu-
larly enjoys the topics of medical theory and disease
management from the time of medicine’s earliest be-
ginnings; so much so, in fact, that he was Lecturer
in History of Medicine at the University of British
Columbia Medical Faculty, Canada. Professor Gunn
has also studied the life, art, and culture of the indige-
nous peoples of Canada’s Northwest Coast to great
depths. In return, he was awarded the respected title
of Honorary Medicine Man, was inducted as Chief
in 3 Tribes, and was given the totemic name
of Kwekwala-gila (Savior of Spirits). His promotion
of the art of Canada´s First Nations from mere tribal
artifacts to internationally recognized art was also
a significant achievement. Furthermore, Gunn´s pub-
lication Totem Poles of British Columbia has become
a classic in the field of anthropology, which led to his
acceptance as a member of the Royal Anthropologi-
cal Institute. Professor Gunn is also an enthusiastic
collector of classic literature, antiquarian books, and
has compiled a valuable collection of historical maps.
His appreciation for music is equally great, and he is
especially fond of opera. It should be noted that, even
when visiting Prague only briefly, the Professor al-
ways strives to find time to attend our operas.
Professor William Gunn is an extraordinary per-
sonality whose tremendous work and contributions
have benefited the lives of thousands of vulnerable
Klein: Prof. William Gunn´s 90th Birthday
45
people around the world. An inspiration to his col-
leagues and successors; respecting and respected by
all communities regardless of race, nationality,
religion, culture or socioeconomic status; Professor
Gunn is the quintessential international envoy of medi-
cine and true humanism. We wish him excellent health
in the coming years; continued unwavering enthusi-
asm and energy in his pursuits; and many precious
moments with his beloved wife Jean, 2 daughters,
grandchildren, and countless friends around the world.
Assoc. Prof. Leo Klein, MD, PhD.
Brigadier General (Retd.)
Chairman, Czech Society of Military
Physicians, Pharmacists and Veterinarians
Hradec Králové
Czech Republic
Received 9thFebruary 2016.
Revised 9th February 2016.
Published 4th March 2016.
46
Klein: Prof. William Gunn´s 90th Birthday