Former US surgeon general C Everett Koop, whose anti-smoking campaign and outspoken, controversial positions on abortion, Aids and drugs elevated the post to one of national influence, died at his home in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Monday. He was 96 years old.
Dr Koop, a paediatric surgeon, served as the leading US spokesman on public health matters and adviser to president Ronald Reagan from November 1981 until October 1989. His death was announced by Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, where he founded the C Everett Koop Institute.
“Dr Koop was not only a pioneering paediatric surgeon but also one of the most courageous and passionate public health advocates of the past century,” said Dr Wiley W Souba, dean of the Geisel School.
– (Reuters)