Eugène Aujaleu

Eugène Aujaleu
National Institute of Health and Medical Research
In office 1964–1969
General Directorate of Health
In office 1956–1964
Personal details
Born	29 October 1903 Nègrepelisse, Tarn-et-Garonne, France
Died	26 August 1990(1990-08-26) (aged 86) Gambais, Yvelines, France
Awards	Léon Bernard Foundation Prize (1971) Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor Commander of the Order of the Crown
Scientific career
Institutions	Institut Pasteur Institute for Advanced National Defense Studies Center for Advanced Administrative Studies University of Toulouse World Health Organization Toulouse University

Eugène Aujaleu (29 October 1903 - 26 August 1990) is a French doctor and public health official. He was the first Director General of Health from 1956 to 1964, then the first Director General of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) from 1964 to 1969.

Early life, education and pre-war years

Eugène Aujaleu was born on 29 October 1903 in Nègrepelisse. Aujaleu studied medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Toulouse (thesis in 1928). He turned to the field of infectiology. He became an associate professor at the Hôpital du Val-de-Grâce in 1936, where he directed the chair of epidemiology as well as the phtisiology department of the Percy military hospital.[1]

Second World War and early public service career

During the Second World War, he took over the management of the hygiene and epidemiology services of the French Armed Forces and then, in 1941, was appointed Inspector General of Public Health.[1] Present by chance in Algiers when the allied troops arrived in 1942, he joined them and became the civilian health officer for the liberated territories. He took on new responsibilities in the field of public health with the French Committee of National Liberation. Upon release, he was appointed director of social hygiene at the Ministry of Public Health and Population.[2]

Post-war years

In 1956, he was the first Director General of Health, a position in which he would be one of the great architects, with Robert Debré, of the reform of medical studies, the health system, and the creation of CHUs (university hospital centres).[3] He plays a major role in reforming public psychiatry through the circular of 15 March 1960.[4]

When INSERM was created, an offshoot of the National Institute of Hygiene headed by Louis Bugnard,[5][6][3] he took over its first management in 1964[7] and laid all the foundations for the administrative operation and the objectives of the new institute which turned no longer just towards prevention and statistical studies,[8] but now essentially towards research in biology and medicine.[9] He left his post in 1969 and was replaced by Constant Burg.

Aujaleu ended his career as State Councillor and representative of France at the World Health Organization until 1982.[10][11][12]

Personal life and death

In 1937, Aujaleu married Nadine Blanche Dumas, together they had two daughter.[13]

Aujaleu died on 26 August 1990.[14]

Prizes and honours

• Léon Bernard Foundation Prize (WHO) in 1971[15]
• Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor[3]
• Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit[3]
• Commander of the Order of the Crown[13]

References

1. Michel Caire (30 November 2019). "La famine sous l'Occupation dans les hôpitaux psychiatriques français". psychiatrie.histoire.free.fr (in French). Retrieved 27 November 2022.
2. "Eugène Aujaleu (1903-1990)". data.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
3. "Histoire de l'Inserm : Eugène Aujaleu". nserm.fr histoire.inserm.fr] (in French). Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022..
4. "Textes officiels historiques : Années 1960". ascodocpsy.org (in French). Retrieved 27 November 2022..
5. "Le docteur Aujaleu, directeur de l'Institut national d'hygiène ; Le docteur Robin, directeur général de la santé" (pdf). Le Monde (in French). 29 February 1964. Retrieved 27 November 2022..
6. Deguiral, René (1905-1965) Auteur du texte (1953). L'hygiène sociale : principes, méthodes, organisation / Dr René Deguiral,... ; introduction du Dr Eugène Aujaleu,...
7. Simone Veil (13 January 1975). "Discours prononcé pour l'inauguration des nouveaux locaux de l'Inserm" (PDF). histoire.inserm.fr (in French). Archived from the original (pdf) on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022..
8. French Science News. Association pour la diffusion de la pensée française. 1964.
9. Nauk, Polska Akademia (1966). The Review of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Ossolineum.
10. J-F. Picard (9 June 1990). "Entretien Avec Eugène Aujaleu". histrecmed.fr histrecmed.fr (in French). Retrieved 27 November 2022..
11. Organization, Interim Commission of the World Health (1972). Official Records of the World Health Organization.
12. "French Aides Say Regime Will Back Red China for U.N.; Paris's Delegate to World Health Unit Votes in vain to Replace Nationalists; French Backing Peking for U. N." The New York Times. 1964-03-04. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
13. "Eugène Jean Yves Aujaleu | RCP Museum". history.rcplondon.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
14. Gijswijt-Hofstra, Marijke; Oosterhuis, Harry; Vijselaar, Joost (2005). Psychiatric Cultures Compared: Psychiatry and Mental Health Care in the Twentieth Century: Comparisons and Approaches. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-5356-799-9.
15. "OMS | Anciens lauréats du prix". 2013-10-30. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2022-12-17.