Citizenship British Name Alexander MacAra | Died June 21, 2012 | |
Born Alexander Wiseman MacAra
4 May 1932
Irvine, North Ayrshire ( 1932-05-04 ) Institutions Bristol University
British Medical Association (BMA) Alma mater London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Institution University of Bristol, British Medical Association | ||
Alexander 'Sandy' Wiseman MacAra (4 May 1932 – 21 June 2012) FRCP FRCGP was a British professor of epidemiology at Bristol University and chairman of British Medical Association (BMA) from 1993-1998.
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Early life
Alexander Wiseman MacAra was born on 4 May 1932 in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Both his father and grandfather were Presbyterian ministers. Marion, his mother, was a civil servant. When he was six years old, MacAra was treated for paratyphoid fever, acute appendicitis and whooping cough. Growing up he witnessed the public health affects of the slums in Glasgow as well as the health problems of the dockers and miners.
He was educated at Irvine Royal Academy. He studied at the Glasgow Medical School, Glasgow University, graduating with a medical degree in 1958. He went on to gain a DPH from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 1960.
Early career
Career
From 1993 - 1998 MacAra was the chair of the ruling council of British Medical Association (BMA). He was consultant to the World Health Organisation (for over 20 years ), and he was president of the National Heart Forum. He was a member of the Council of the General Medical Council (GMC)
Campaigning
He played a key role in smoking ban in public places which was introduced in 2007. In 2009 he called for the MMR vaccine to be made compulsory following an unfounded health scare which resulted in a fall in the take up rate of the vaccine within the UK.
Honours
Personal life
MacAra was married to Sylvia and they had two children, a daughter, Alexandra, and a son, James. He died on 21 June 2012.