Image of Dr. Alexander D. Robertson, professor and head, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, points to a map while seated at his desk; two men look on.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Alexander Duff Robertson was born 28 April 1926 in Dunkfield, England. He received an MB from the University of Edinburgh in 1949, a DPH from the University of London in 1955, and an MD from the University of Saskatchewan in 1961. At Edinburgh Robertson was a researcher in social medicine (1941-1951), a lecturer in public health and social medicine, and a lecturer in the general practice teaching unit (1951-1954). From 1955-1958 he was a lecturer in social and preventive medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London and in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine. Dr. Robertson made headlines in June 1960 when he made statements in favor of the Saskatchewan government's plan to introduce compulsory prepaid medical care insurance. The Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons, of which Dr. Robertson was a member, was opposed to the government's move into the medical field. Dr. Robertson was chairman of the salaried physicians' section of the college when the section's executive was forced to resign after a vote of non-confidence. Dr. Robertson resigned from his post in February 1962 to become executive director of the Milbank Memorial Fund in New York City, resigning in 1969. From 1969-1990 he held numerous positions with the World Health Organization (WHO) such as chief of human resources for the Caribbean; regional advisor on medical education and public health; public health administrator; director of health manpower development; and director of health services in the regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Alexandria, Egypt. Dr. Robertson died 29 June 1991.