Alumni

Scotland’s former Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Harry Burns, has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

The award was made in recognition of his outstanding contribution to social justice and health at an international conference on health inequalities held at the Royal College yesterday (Thursday 16 November).

A Professor of Practice and Special Advisor at the University of Strathclyde, Sir Harry is renowned for addressing the link between poverty and ill health. He started his career in general surgery at Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary, before becoming Medical Director, and between 2005 and 2014, was Chief Medical Officer for Scotland.

Born in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Sir Harry studied medicine at the University of Glasgow. He initially pursued a career in general surgery, becoming consultant surgeon at the city’s Royal Infirmary and later, Medical Director.

Working in the east end of Glasgow gave him an insight into the complex relationships between social deprivation and illness, and in 1990, he took a Master’s degree in public health. It was an area that has since become a central theme of his professional life, with a focus on wellbeing and addressing the link between poverty and ill health.

He went on to become Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow Health Board in 1993, and took up the post of Chief Medical Officer for Scotland in September 2005.

Among his many contributions as CMO was his report on the importance of the early years as the basis for health and wellbeing in adulthood. 

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is the UK’s only multidisciplinary Royal College and has around 16,000 Members and Fellows from almost 100 countries around the world.

The University is always delighted to see our world-changing alumni recognised for their achievements, and congratulates Sir Harry Burns for this prestigious accomplishment. 

---

First published: 27 November 2023