Ian Prior

Ian Ambury Miller Prior (16 October 1923 – 17 February 2009) was a New Zealand doctor, epidemiologist, environmental campaigner and arts patron. He is acknowledged as the founder of epidemiology in New Zealand. He conducted pioneering epidemiological studies of Māori, Cook Islanders and Tokelau Islanders in the 1960s. He was active in a number of environmental campaigns including the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and was well known for his support of the arts, in particular the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

Early life and education Prior was born in Masterton in 1923, the son of Jessie Anne Prior (née Miller) and Norman Henry Prior (1882–1967), a Masterton general practitioner. His father served as a medical officer in World War I in Egypt, Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Norman and Jessie married in 1920. Prior had an older brother, Arthur Norman Prior (b. 1914), a noted logician and philosopher, from Norman's first marriage to Elizabeth (née Teague),

Prior attended Hadlow Preparatory School in Masterton and Wairarapa High School. He attended the University of Otago Medical School from 1940 to 1945 graduating MB ChB. In 1953, he returned to New Zealand to Wellington Hospital where he was a senior registrar and then a physician.

Environmental, social and peace campaigns In the 1960s and 1970s, Prior became involved in and chaired the campaign to prevent the raising of Lake Manapouri to provide electricity for an aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point. In 1981, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He was awarded an honorary DSc by Victoria University of Wellington in 1988. The Public Health Association of New Zealand made him a life member in 1990.

Personal life Prior married Elespie Forsyth (d. 2002) in Dunedin on 14 March 1946. She was the great-granddaughter of early New Zealand businessman Bendix Hallenstein, and her family were supporters of arts and culture and philanthropy.

Legacy Prior is recognised as the 'founder of epidemiology' in New Zealand and his influence has been acknowledged in Australia and worldwide. He was able to bring together multi-disciplinary teams, including social scientists, use multi-disciplinary methodologies to address health problems and view the determinants of health as being situated in society and the environment. Sir Michael Marmot has acknowledged Prior's influence in introducing him to epidemiology and public health.

Selected publications Prior published over 200 articles between 1947 and 2000.

Prior, Ian. Elespie & Ian: memoir of a marriage, 2006 Prior, Ian. Two unusual families: the origins of the Prior collection, 2005.

Wessen AF, Hooper A, Huntsman J, Prior I, Salmond CE. Migration and health in a small society: the case of Tokelau. Oxford University Press, 1992.

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