Ivan Lichter (14 March 1918 – 12 June 2009) was a

thoracic The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main ...

surgeon and a pioneer in the field of

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

in New Zealand. He was appointed to the

Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...

, the country's highest honour and limited to 20 living people, in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Early life

Lichter was born in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostric ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

, South Africa, on 14 March 1918. He received his secondary education from

Grey High School Grey High School is a State school, semi-private English-medium high school (grades 8 to 12) for boys situated in the suburb of Mill Park in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the top sporting schools in the coun ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

. He graduated from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

in 1940, and served with the South African Medical Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he specialised in thoracic surgery and had his own medical practice. In 1951, Lichter married Heather Lloyd and they were to have four children, three of whom also went into the medical profession. He wanted to leave South Africa to escape its politics, as the Afrikaans National Party started giving positions in hospitals to their supporters, and its

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. He had the choice between a place in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and a place in New Zealand that he thought was called "Dune Din"; he settled on the latter and came to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

() with his family. Lichter became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1964.

Life in New Zealand

Lichter was an assistant lecturer at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and at the same time was a surgeon for the Otago Hospital Board. From 1974, he was interested in palliative care. He retired from medical practice in 1984 and used the time to write ''Communication in Cancer Care'', his most notable book. Lichter moved to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in 1986 and took up a medical directorship at Te Omanga Hospice. He retained his directorship until 1993 and was an honorary consultant afterwards. Among the organisation that Lichter belonged to were: * Advisory Board of Palliative Medicine * International Advisory Committee to the International Congress on the Care of the Terminally Ill * Executive of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, of which he was a founding member.

Death

Lichter died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 12 June 2009, at the age of 91. His wife, Heather Lichter, died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichter, Ivan 1918 births 2009 deaths Members of the Order of New Zealand New Zealand thoracic surgeons University of the Witwatersrand alumni Academic staff of the University of Otago South African emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand surgeons Alumni of Grey High School People from Oudtshoorn