Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran is a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, former president of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

and the

International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, usually just FIGO ("fee'go") as the acronym of its French name , is a worldwide non-governmental organisation representing obstetricians and gynaecologists in over one hundred territorie ...

, and president-elect of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

Early life and family

Arulkumaran was born in 1948. He was the son of K. Sabaratnam, a Director of the Jaffna Co-operative Society, and Gnambikai. He was from Kantharmadam in northern

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He was educated at Jaffna Central College and Mahajana College, Tellippalai. After school he joined the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

in 1968 and graduated with an honours

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degree in 1972. He then obtained a Diploma in Child Health from the university. He then entered the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

from where he obtained MD and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degrees. He then became a fellow of the

and the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

Career

Arulkumaran joined the

in 1982 as a lecturer. He was

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

of obstetrics and gynaecology (1993-1997) and head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1995-1997). Whilst working in Singapore, Arulkumaran also carried out research in the United States, Sweden, and France. Arulkumaran moved to the United Kingdom in 1997 to be closer to other family members. Here, he was professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

(1997-2001) and non-executive director of the Southern Derbyshire Acute Hospital NHS Trust (1997-2001). Arulkumaran was professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at

St George's, University of London St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in South London, England. It merged with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of ...

from 2001 to 2013. Arulkumaran was treasurer of the

(1997-2003), its secretary-general (2003-2006) and was its president from 2012 to 2015. He served as vice-president of the

before serving as its president from 2007 to 2010. In June 2012, he was elected president of the

for 2013-2014. Arulkumaran is an honorary fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India,

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the establishment of high standards of practice in obstetrics and gynaecology and women’s health. The Col ...

Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan (SOGP) is a professional medical association formed by practitioners of obstetrics and gynecology in Pakistan. A member of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), ...

, South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He is an honorary member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkilogie und Geurtshilfe, Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia and Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. He has also received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. Arulkumaran has been

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of '' Best Practices and Research in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology'' since 1998. He has written or edited 24 books, 240 articles, and more than 150 book chapters. He was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in June 2009 for his services to medicine. In November 2012, Arulkumaran was appointed chair of a panel of inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arulkumaran, Sabaratnam 1948 births Academics of the University of Nottingham Alumni of Jaffna Central College Alumni of Mahajana College, Tellippalai Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) British people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Knights Bachelor Living people National University of Singapore alumni Academic staff of the National University of Singapore Academics of St George's, University of London People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Members of the National Academy of Medicine