Norman Sartorius | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28/1/1935 |
| Alma mater | School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, MD |
| Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, psychologist, medical educator, public health specialist |
| Children | One daughter, Danielle |
Norman Sartorius (born 1935[1]) is a German-Croatian psychiatrist and university professor. Sartorius is a former director of theWorld Health Organization's (WHO) Division of Mental Health, and a former president of theWorld Psychiatric Association and of theEuropean Psychiatric Association. He has been described as "one of the most prominent and influential psychiatrists of his generation"[2] and as a "living legend".[3]
Sartorius was born inMünster, Germany[1] but grew up inKoprivnica[4] andZagreb, Croatia[5][6] raised by his mother, Professor Feđa Fischer-Sartorius, a renowned pediatrician.[4] Sartorius obtained hisM.D. from theSchool of Medicine, University of Zagreb in 1958, and his B.Sc. and M.A. in psychology from theFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb in 1962. He finished his specialization in psychiatry and neurology in 1963 and defended his Ph.D. thesis in psychology at the University of Zagreb in 1965.[5] After obtaining his Ph.D., and passing the speciality examinations for Neurology and Psychiatry Sartorius spent two years at theUniversity of London on aBritish Council stipend.[4][7]
In 1967, Sartorius was invited to join the WHO.[8] and became the Head of the WHO Interregional Advisory Team on Epidemiology of Mental Disorders.[7] He then took the position of Medical Officer responsible for epidemiological and social psychiatry and in 1974 at WHO Headquarters became the Chief of the Mental Health Unit. In 1977 he was appointed Director of the Division of Mental Health of WHO, a position which he held until 1993.[9] He served as the President of theWorld Psychiatric Association (1993–1999) and of theEuropean Psychiatric Association (1997–2001).[7][9]
Sartorius became a professor at theUniversity of Geneva in 1993.[5] Sartorius also held professorships at theUniversity of Zagreb andUniversity of Prague.[5] He has worked as an honorary visiting or adjunct professor at theUniversity of London,Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, theUniversity of Beijing,Washington University in St. Louis,the New York University, theUniversity of Belgrade and the University of Florida.[7] He is a senior faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the Mental Health Department.
Sartorius is a Fellow of the BritishRoyal Society of Medicine, Honorary Fellow European Association of Social Psychiatry, member of Medical Academies in Croatia, Mexico and Peru, and a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Spain and of the Croatian Academy of Arts and sciences,Honoris causa Doctor of Medicine of theUmeå University, of the Timișoara/Temisvar University Victor Babes and of theCharles University in Prague. He is also an Honorary Doctor of Science of theUniversity of Bath in 1990,[10] the University of Florida (2015) and an honorary doctor of psychology of the University of Copenhagen. He is a Distinguished Fellow of theAmerican Psychiatric Association, an Honorary Fellow of theRoyal College of Psychiatrists of the United Kingdom, of theRoyal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, of theEuropean Psychiatric Association and of the World Psychiatric Association. He is a Fellow or an honorary member of numerous other professional organizations.
Sartorius' work dealt withepidemiology of mental disorders andsocial psychiatry with public health matters as well as with various issues related toschizophrenia,depression, and health service delivery.[9] Major themes in his current work and public activity are rights of patients with mental disorders and struggle againststigma andprejudices associated withmental illness, comorbidity of mental and physical illness education in psychiatry and improvement of mental health services.[4][9][11][12][13][14] He has conducted more than 150 Leadership and Professional Skills courses involving more than 2000 early career psychiatrists from more than 60 countries.
Between 1961 and 2022, Sartorius published more than 500 papers in peer reviewed journals and more than 800 technical contributions, prefaces to books, interviews and brief articles.[1] According to theWeb of Science, Sartorius' articles have been cited more than 47.000 times, and hish-index is 110.[1] He has authored, co-authored or edited more than 120 books.[7]
Sartorius currently lives inGeneva and Zagreb with his wife Vera. They have been married since 1963 and have a daughter.[4]
