The Saudi Anesthesia Society has received the news of passing away of Dr. Anis Baraka, with great sorrow and sadness. The news shocked many people who knew him and his students. Dr. Baraka was considered mentor and father of anesthesiology to many colleagues in the Middle East. Condolences and tributes poured in from around the world. He was a constant source of inspiration and knowledge to all of us and worked extremely hard to improve the status of our specialty, especially in developing countries. Dr. Baraka was graduated from college of medicine, Cairo University, in 1953 and finished his anesthesia residency in 1957. Then, he joined the American University Beirut (AUB) in 1964 where he served for 42 years. He was full-time Professor in 1976 and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia for the period of 1976–2007. Dr. Baraka had contributed in research by publishing more than400 papers and authored nine books. Besides, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology. In 2008, he was appointed as Professor Emeritus in AUB. He was the President of Arab Board of Anesthesia and the Chairman of its Examination Committee. Dr. Baraka was the Vice President of the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA) and was their representative at the Regional Commission of the United Nations. In recognition of his exceptional service to the WFSA and the international anesthesia community, he was awarded the WFSA Distinguished Service in 2016.
Dr. Baraka is survived by his wife, one daughter, and three sons. God bless his soul.
“We will never forget him.”