I

Dr. Roy le Riche

Charlotte Gray

Leroy le Riche was bom in "that unhappy country" with

the Orange Free State in 1923, fierce interest.
the youngest of an English- Le Riche returned to the
speaking farmer's four sons. The United Kingdom and stayed until
eldest, Harding, is professor 1957, when he and his first wife,
emeritus at the University of To- Pathologist Jean le Riche, moved
ronto, while the second is a to Canada and settled in Drumh-
prominent South African busi- eller, Alta.
nessman; the third son died But it was not long before
young. his political antennae were tin-
His parents promoted beliefs gling again. In 1960 he was elect-
in democratic justice and equality ed to the Board of Directors of
that were anathema to their Afri- the Alberta Medical Association;
kaner neighbours. Thanks to he has served on a number of its
scholarships, their three surviv- committees and has chaired the
ing sons attended university. Roy Education Committee. In 1961 he
began medical studies at the Uni- was elected to the CMA's Gener-
versity of Cape Town in 1946, al Council.
and was soon involved in student After 9 years of practice in a
politics as president of the Stu- small town, le Riche joined the
dents' Union and chairman of the Allin Clinic in Edmonton. In
D r. Roy le Riche, presi- National Union of South African 1972 he took an administrative
dent of the Federation Students. At a mass rally in 1949, job with the college. Two years
of Provincial Medical he and the bishop of Cape Town later he was registrar.
Licensing Authorities denounced the Nationalist gov- "The college is both the ad-
of Canada (FPMLAC), has come ernment's racial policies. vocate for the public and the
a distance in his lifetime. Geo- Le Riche's original goal had guardian of professional ethics.
graphically, he has travelled from been to practise in the Transkei, a So we are right in the middle of
South Africa to Alberta, where he black territory. Aware that he the system - and a target for
is registrar of the College of Phy- would inevitably be drawn into politicians!"
sicians and Surgeons. politics if he remained in South His strong views on the pro-
He has also covered quite a Africa, he left for England in fession's own responsibility to
distance politically. The student 1949 to finish his medical educa- maintain standards have made
who was considered a dangerous tion at the University of Liver- him a formidable force - little
subversive by South African po- pool. The same year he visited happens within Alberta's health
lice in 1949 because of anti- Prague for a meeting of the Inter- care system without le Riche
apartheid activities is today re- national Union of Students, strik- being consulted.
spected by colleagues as a rigor- ing up a lifelong friendship with In 1986 le Riche was elected
ous defender of professional in- Olof Palme, the late prime minis- president of the FPMLAC, the
tegrity. ter of Sweden. In 1950 he and umbrella organization for the 10
Time has not tempered le Palme raised a considerable sum provincial licensing authorities.
Riche: "My overall philosophy in Sweden for the education of He is particularly concerned
has not changed. But the older I black doctors in South Africa. about shifts in physicians' moral-
get, the less I rely on government After graduating in 1953, le ity. "It is more difficult to exer-
to correct injustices. As the power Riche returned home to a house cise the ethics of our profession
of the state increases, individual job in East London. "But I felt amidst more and more govern-
morality declines." like a foreigner. And I knew that, mental rules and regulations. But
with my convictions, I would we mustn't claim we are a profes-
have to get involved in politics if sion and then behave like an
Charlotte Gray is a CMAJ contributing I stayed." occupation. We must put service
editor. He still follows events in before self-interest."-
626 CMAJ, VOL. 136, MARCH 15, 1987