Wieland Gevers

Wieland Gevers (born 9 October 1937) is a retired South African biochemist and education administrator. He is emeritus professor of medical biochemistry at the University of Cape Town, where he has taught since 1978. He was a deputy vice-chancellor of the same university between 1992 and 2002.

Gevers is also a former president of the Royal Society of South Africa and Academy of Science of South Africa, as well as the founding president of the South African Biochemical Society.

Early life and education Gevers was born on 9 October 1937 in Piet Retief in the former Transvaal Province. He matriculated in 1954 at Nigel High School in Nigel on the East Rand, He enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UCT) the following year.

In 1960, he graduated from UCT with an MBChB in the first class. As the best graduate in his cohort, he received the University Gold Medal and the Sir Robert Kotze Scholarship. After graduating he worked briefly as an intern at Groote Schuur Hospital and as a volunteer at the Red Cross Children's Hospital. and he was also the founding director of the university's research unit for molecular and cellular cardiology, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Professional associations and honours During his time as a professor, Gevers served on several bodies of the MRC and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, including as the South African delegate to the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1973 to 1994. President Kgalema Motlanthe inducted Gevers into the Order of Mapungubwe, granting him the award in silver for "His excellent contribution to the field of Higher Education and medicine."

Personal life He is married to Elizabeth Ellen Gevers (née Hurst) and has four children.