Ernest Steven Monteiro
CBE FRS BBM PJG FRFPS
Singapore Ambassador to the United States
In office
January 1969 – September 1976
Preceded byWong Lin Ken
Succeeded byPunch Coomaraswamy
Singapore Ambassador to Cambodia
In office
1966–1968
Personal details
Born21 December 1904
Singapore, Straits Settlement
Died2 March 1989(1989-03-02) (aged 84)
Singapore
Cause of deathLiver failure
Spouse(s)
Una Marie Lewis
​
(div. 1971)​

Ling Mie Hean
​
(m. 1971⁠–⁠1989)​
Children5
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Physician
  • diplomat

Ernest Steven Monteiro CBE FRS BBM PJG FRFPS (21 December 1904 – 2 March 1989) was a Singaporean physician, specialised in preventive medicine.[1] He also served as the Singapore Ambassador to Brazil, Cambodia and the United States.[2]

Education

Monteiro was educated in St Anthony's School, Raffles Institution and King Edward VII College of Medicine.[1][3][4]

Career

Monteiro started his medical career in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in 1929.[3][4]

During the Japanese Occupation, Monteiro was Director of Middleton Hospital for Infectious Diseases, which was TTSH's infectious diseases wing and a predecessor of National Centre for Infectious Diseases in Singapore.[5] He discovered that the available quantity of diphtheria antitoxin was depleting. He exposed live goats to diphtheria to create more antitoxin.[5]

After completing his post-graduate studies on a Queen's Scholarship in 1949, he was elected head of Faculty of Medicine of the then University of Malaya, Singapore in 1956–1960.[1][3][4][6]

In 1958, he started to use Sabin vaccine on a mass scale to protect young children and adults from polio to wipe-out beri-beri with Vitamin B-1 and eliminated diphtheria in children.[1] By 1977, diphtheria and polio had become things of the past for Singaporeans.[5]

Upon his retirement in 1965, he was appointed the Emeritus Professor and Pro-Chancellor of National University of Singapore.[1] Monteiro taught many medical students from Singapore and Malaysia. Among his students were Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed (former Prime Minister of Malaysia) and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.[1] He played a major role in establishing high standard of medical practice in Singapore.[1]

Monteiro was appointed the first Ambassador of Singapore to Cambodia in 1966-1968 and to United States and Brazil in 1969–1976.[1][2][3][4][6]

Monteiro came back home in 1977 and continued his private practice as a physician.[1]

Family and death

Monteiro died of liver failure on 2 March 1989.[3][4] He divorced Una Marie Lewis, his first wife, in April 1971,[7] and secretly married Ling Mie Hean in August 1971 in Washington.[8] He has two sons (Dr Edmund Hugh Monteiro and Dr Gerald Monteiro) and 2 daughters (Jean and Irene) from the first marriage and a son, John Monteiro, from the second marriage.[1]

Honours

Monteiro was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957 Birthday Honours.[9] The Republic of Singapore awarded him Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (BBM) in 1963 and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang PJG in 1968.[1] He was also named a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972 for the Promotion of Health for his achievements in preventive medicine.[1] In 1973, he was awarded an International Award for Distinguished Service of the US National Kidney Foundation.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Still working after a lifetime of achievements". The Straits Times. 25 August 1986. p. 2.
  2. 1 2 "Portrait of Dr. E.S. Monteiro, President of Singapore Recreation Club". BookSG – via NLB.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "ES Monteiro dies at 85". New Paper. 3 March 1989. p. 4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Medical pioneer Monteiro dies at 85". The Straits Times. 4 March 1989. p. 33.
  5. 1 2 3 Cheong Suk-Wai. "Doctor, Doctor!: Singapore's Medical Services". Biblioasia. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020 – via NLB. Scroll to section The Goats That Saved Lives
  6. 1 2 "Portrait of Dr. E.S. Monteiro, Ambassador of Singapore to Cambodia". BookSG – via NLB.
  7. ↑ "Envoy gets divorce". The Straits Times. 23 April 1971. p. 20.
  8. ↑ "Our US envoy's secret wedding to nurse". The Straits Times. 10 November 1971. p. 17.
  9. ↑ "No. 41089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1957. p. 3391.
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