Michel Rey, the 4th president of the ISTM (1997-1999) died at the age of 91 in Paris, France on April 2, 2022. Born in Lyon, Michel was educated and graduated in infectious diseases in Paris, mostly at the Claude Bernard hospital where all the French ID specialists were trained before its destruction in 1988. Michel worked a great deal in Western Africa. From 1954 to 1957, during his military duty he served successively in Thies (Senegal) then in Gao (Mali). He came back in Paris for a four year-long residency before moving back to Senegal as the head of the ID department at the Fann hospital in Dakar from 1961 to 1971. There he acquired a huge experience in ID and tropical medicine. He became an expert in vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, tetanus and poliomyelitis. When he moved back to France he became Professor of ID and tropical medicine at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, a city close to Lyon, famous for its pneumatics industry (“Michelin”), and its rugby team. In 1980 he founded the department of ID at Clermont-Ferrand university hospital, and remained its head until he retired in 1994.

His field expertise and extensive knowledge about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases was recognized in France and worldwide. In France, he founded the “Ligue pour la prévention des maladies infectieuses” in 1981, and was involved in the “Conseil supérieur d’Hygiène Publique de France” at the French ministry of health. He was a counselor at WHO in 1985 and 1986. He was the president of the French Society of Travel Medicine from 1994 to 2003, and the 4th president of the ISTM from 1997 to 1999 between Jay Keystone from Canada and Charles Ericsson from the United States of America. Before his election he closely collaborated with Maxime Armengaud from Toulouse who had been the driving force in the preparation of the 3rd Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine in Paris in 1993, but who did not speak much English. Michel had the ambition to expand the ISTM in Africa. He was a leader who by his diplomatic and gentlemanly approach solved existing problems in the very early period of our Secretariat. As the ISTM president, he was a champion of the development of what eventually became the ISTM CTH exam, and against many strong voices who did not agree with the exam. He thought there should be a standard of care in the practice of travel medicine, and it was later decided to name a task force to explore an international examination.

Michel Rey was a well experienced and trusted clinician highly appreciated by his patients, and his colleagues. He was also a very good teacher performing entertaining and lively teaching courses. He mentored dozens of students, residents and fellows, including his two following successors at the head of the ID and tropical disease department in Clermont-Ferrand. After he retired he remained involved during two decades in different ID oriented French societies. During the last decade he was slowly retiring from all his activities due to health problems that impaired the last years of his life.

Authored by Eric Caumes with contributions by Phyllis Kozarsky and Robert Steffen