Institute Fellow appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London

The Lord Lieutenant is an honorary appointment, and acts as the Queen's personal representative in Greater London. Dr Abu-Lisan said he is “honoured, delighted and privileged” to take up the position. Dr Abu-Lisan has had a distinguished career as a clinical chemist spanning over 39 years. From Loughborough University, Derbyshire Royal Infirmary and the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, Dr Abu-Lisan then spent some time as a consultant clinical biochemist in Malta in the 1970s, before moving to the Ministry of Public Health in Kuwait in 1981. Dr Abu-Lisan was a founding chair of the Kuwait group of clinical biochemists and later elected general secretary of the Arab Federation of Clinical Chemists, and vice-president of the Arab Federation of Clinical Biologists. In 1986 he was awarded the International Fellowship from the AACC for promoting the profession of clinical chemistry internationally and became a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel on the rational use of antibiotics for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The Deputy Lieutenants of London are distinguished residents who either have served the local community, or have a history of service in other fields. Dr Abu-Lisan has spent many years working with the community in his local borough of Kensington & Chelsea, and is looking forward to continuing this work. He dedicates much of his time to bringing communities together and helping them take pride in their national identity and celebrate our multi-race, multi-faith and multi-culture society. Dr Abu-Lisan said: “There is a lot that need to be done, can be done and must be done, to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, if not financially at least socially, by identifying, recognising and rewarding those who have done a lot for the society but still feel isolated, excluded, ignored or marginalised. We are a multi-faith, multi-race and multi-culture society and we must work hard to make it a more tolerant, more inclusive and fairer society.” Deputy Lieutenants are expected to continue to serve the community both within and outside the framework of the Lieutenancy. Dr Abu-Lisan feels that this appointment will help him to continue to endeavour to “help the long-term unemployed, the disadvantaged, the disabled and the disillusioned”. The Institute is delighted to congratulate Dr Abu-Lisan on this prestigious appointment, and wish him all the best as he continues his excellent work.