Sir George Allanmore Ogarren Alleyne (born in St. Philip,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, on 7 October 1932) served as

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

's Special Envoy for

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

in the Caribbean region 2003–2010. He was appointed to the position by UN Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

in February 2003.

Early life and education

George Allanmore Ogarren Alleyne was born in 1932 at Lucas street in St. Philip, Barbados, to a mother who was a homemaker and a father who was an elementary school teacher. He took his early

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

from Holy Trinity Boys school. He graduated from Harrison College in 1950 with the Barbados Scholarship in the Classics. He studied medicine and earned

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United K ...

at the

University College of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

and graduated as the gold medallist in 1957. He later earned

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1965. Later he pursued his postgraduate training in internal medicine in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Personal life

He is married to Sylvan I. Chen and they have three children.

Career

In 1972, Alleyne became Professor of Medicine at UWI. In 1976, he was appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine. In October 2003 he was appointed Chancellor of the

University of West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. Besides his academic experience, Alleyne also gained much experience in working for international organizations. In February 1995, he became Director of the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...

(PAHO), Regional Office of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(WHO). He served two four-year terms in this position until the end of January 2003 and was elected director emeritus. After his retirement, Alleyne was appointed by WHO Director-General

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ( ti, ቴዎድሮስ አድሓኖም ገብረኢየሱስ, sometimes spelt ti, ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም ገብረየሱስ, label=none; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, and ...

to serve on the Independent High-level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases from 2018 until 2019.

Recognition

Alleyne was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990 New Year Honours, and awarded the

Order of the Caribbean Community The Order of the Caribbean Community is an award given to The award was initiated at the Eighth (8th) Conference of Heads of State and Governments of CARICOM in 1987 and began bestowal in 1992. Decisions as to award are taken by the Advisory Co ...

in 2001 - the highest honor that can be bestowed on a Caribbean national. In October 2008 he received the Science of Peace Award from the Inter American Heart Foundation. On June 14, 2017, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Toronto."#UofTGrad17: Three things you should know about Sir George Alleyne"
''UofT News'', 14 June 2017. Accessed 7 July 2018.

References

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External links

Sir George Alleyne
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) website {{DEFAULTSORT:Alleyne, George 1932 births Living people Barbadian academics Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London University of the West Indies alumni Academic staff of the University of the West Indies World Health Organization officials Barbadian officials of the United Nations Caribbean public health doctors HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Order of the Caribbean Community Members of the National Academy of Medicine