Zdenek Fejfar

Quotes

A Historical Note about Fred Epstein and WHO

I put in writing that he [was] wanted to join my unit when he divorced, you know, he was very depressed after the divorce. But then he could not decide yes/no so I told him, “If you can’t decide, you should not do it.” But that’s obvious. (Page 4)

A Historical Note about James Watt NOT becoming Surgeon General

What he (Watt) didn’t write me was when Kennedy became President he or his advisors selected someone as Minister [Secretary] of Health who was completely unacceptable for Jim Watt and this progressive group. So they put up Jim as a contrast candidate and that knocked this candidate out — but it knocked also Jim Watt. So Luther Terry became. . . He was the first one who started fighting against the smoking industry. (22)

At the Princeton 1959 Conference on Methods:

I realized that at this time the epidemiologists as a group thought that they would get the Nobel Prize. And they even didn’t say to the other group what they are measuring and how do they do it. For example, they didn’t even say whether they measured blood pressure in Korotkov four or five. That was the situation. This was one of the reasons why I invited you and Geoffrey because I wanted young chaps from two different, I didn’t say, opposing groups and not the bosses. When I came back from Princeton I said, “If the world is our laboratory and we have to do epidemiology we have to do methods first.” And we started with methodology.

The Minnesota code using, you remember how it went probably. The best [coders were] children who didn’t know anything about it. The second best were statisticians and the worst were the doctors who were modifying [it]. You know it. Then we tested blood lipids and Jerry Cooper […] came to the laboratory. I paid him one dollar a year for it. (20)

A Diaglogue on Polical things:

ZF: You recommended to me Thoma Strasser for [a WHO post] …..

HB: Yes, I’m glad you remember that.

ZF: And I couldn’t get him because there were too many Yugoslavs in the WHO. So I was thinking how to do it and Akmetaly at that time was head of the department for WHO in Moscow and we had once traveled because he was at the same time as Pisa in Copenhagen. And when he came to Geneva he was talking too much and I told him he shouldn’t talk . . . Then we were once in Makarska,

HB: I know, I remember that. When he walked out [of the after-dinner speech and] he slammed the door.

ZF: Yes, then he walked out. You remember – slammed the door.

HB: I’ve written that story in my book.

ZF: We were at the beach [later that evening] and he told me, “Zdenek, you should do the same as me.”

ZF: And I told him, “No. If you do a stupid thing I will not do it.” And he said, “What should I do?” I said, “Make a joke [of it].”

HB: Interesting.

ZF: That was our discussion in Makarska. So in ’68 after the Russian invasion I wanted to get Thoma Strasser. So I phone Moscow and said, “Misha, I think you are sending a candidate. I hope he would have to have a very great quality because I have candidates like Roy Dawber.” (Which was true. Roy Dawber had applied but I didn’t want him. Which I didn’t say.) And Misha gasps . . . and they didn’t send a candidate! And that’s how. . Thoma came [to WHO].

HB: Isn’t that wonderful!

ZF: That’s true.

HB: Tom was so grateful. (27)

WHO Cardiovascular Disease Unit

James Watt – Zdenek Fejfar correspondence from 1992