Kristine Elizabeth Moore Gebbie (June 26, 1943 – May 17, 2022) was an American academic and public health official working as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at the

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia. Gebbie previously served as the AIDS Policy Coordinator (or " AIDS Czar") from 1993 to 1994.

Early life and education

Gebbie was born in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

on June 26, 1943, the daughter of Irene (Stewart), who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Thomas Moore, a career officer in the Army. She was raised in

Miles City, Montana Miles City ( chy, Ma'xemâhoévé'ho'eno) is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created fo ...

and

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. Gebbie earned a

Bachelor of Science in Nursing The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN, BScN) also known in some countries as a Bachelor of Nursing (BN) or Bachelor of Science (BS) with a Major in Nursing is an academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by an accredited ...

from St. Olaf College and

Master of Science in Nursing A Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree also may prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse administr ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. She also held a Doctor of Public Health in

Health Policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

School of Public Health in 1995.

Career

Before joining the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, Gebbie was the Secretary of the

Washington State Department of Health The Washington State Department of Health is a state agency of Washington. It is headquartered in Olympia, Washington. The agency was created by the state legislature in May 1989 after splitting from the Washington State Department of Social and ...

(1989 to 1993) and was previously the director of the Oregon Department of Health. Gebbie is best known for being the first U.S. AIDS Czar, from 1993 to 1994, during the

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

. She was a member of the

President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic The President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic was a commission formed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 to investigate the AIDS pandemic. It is also known as the Watkins Commission for James D. Watkins, its chairman when the commission issued it ...

, formed by President

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, and an outspoken opponent of the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

policies on

AIDS testing HIV tests are used to detect the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in serum, saliva, or urine. Such tests may detect antibodies, antigens, or RNA. AIDS diag ...

. From 2008 to 2010, she was the Joan Hansen Grabe Dean of the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. Before moving to Hunter College, Gebbie was the Elizabeth Standish Gill Professor at the

Columbia University School of Nursing The School of Nursing is the graduate school of nursing at Columbia University in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1892, it stands as one of the oldest nursing schools in the United States. The School o ...

and Director of Columbia's Center for

. Gebbie was a founding member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners, an organization that provides the first and only core certification for public health professionals and graduates of CEPH-accredited institutions.

Personal life

Gebbie had three children with her first husband, Neil Gebbie. Her second marriage was to a physician, Lester Nils Wright, who died in April 2022. Gebbie died in Adelaide, Australia on May 17, 2022, from cancer.Kristine Gebbie, the First U.S. AIDS Czar, Dies at 78
/ref>

References

External links

Flinders University webpage for Kristine Gebbe
* ttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GovPubs/drgpol.txt AIDS Czar Kristine Gebbie Commends Drug Czar for National Drug Strategy* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gebbie, Kristine 1943 births 2022 deaths American nursing administrators United States Department of Health and Human Services officials State cabinet secretaries of Washington (state) Columbia University faculty Columbia University School of Nursing faculty University of Michigan School of Public Health alumni UCLA School of Nursing alumni St. Olaf College alumni Nursing educators Nursing researchers People from Sioux City, Iowa People from Miles City, Montana People from Albuquerque, New Mexico Clinton administration personnel Members of the National Academy of Medicine