A tribute to Michael Koenig from his friends and colleagues from Bangladesh

We are very sorry that one of our former ICDDR,B staff members, Dr Michael Koenig, passed away 27 January 2009. Mike had been suffering from cancer for several years, and had fought hard to overcome it.
 
Mike was a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. He spent a number of years in Bangladesh in the 1980s, first at ICDDR,B and later with the Population Council office in Dhaka. In the early 1990s he moved to Delhi with the Ford Foundation, returning to Johns Hopkins for the past decade. He was always a very strong supporter of ICDDR,B and carried out a wide variety of reproductive and child health research studies with collaborators here and elsewhere in the region. He mentored many young researchers over the years. He will be sadly missed, especially by colleagues in the field of reproductive health and rights.
 
No person was more dedicated to improving the life of persons in developing countries, or a more wonderful host (and chef), or a more caring husband and father. I miss him greatly, but treasure what he added to my life. Michael Bennish
 
What a huge loss to his family and to the field of reproductive health. He succeeded in creating and supporting a network of talented researchers on reproductive and sexual health. I have the fondest memories of attending annual workshops in Pune, Pondicherry, Colombo and elsewhere when outside experts would work with young South Asian social scientists. Mike created an atmosphere of excitement, openness and mutual respect. He probably did more than any other individual to raise standards of reproductive health research in India and many owe him a huge debt of gratitude. John Cleland
 
Mike Koenig was a friend, mentor, guru, adviser, brother – all of it and more, and most of all an utterly decent fellow whose path I feel privileged to have crossed. Mike’s brimming forehead was packed with that fearsome intellect and yet with that unmistakable gentle compassionate approach. Whatever little I know of research, I owe it to Mike’s teaching. Gillian and Mike took me in almost as an extended family member until they left for Delhi. Mike, I say THANK YOU for being my friend, guru, mentor, and adviser and for helping me to survive, prevail and perhaps thrive in my time in Dhaka. Because of you, my work and of life has been immensely enriched then and now. Ngudup Paljor
 
Mike was a rigorous scientist, always in search of perfection, tirelessly testing hypotheses and polishing his conclusions. On the other hand he was a remarkable mentor, always keen to explain and teach, in the complex areas of reproductive health and record keeping systems. I will not forget the hours of positive interaction we had on our way to Matlab, or on the barge during evenings of research planning. But what was most striking about Mike was his kindness, his ability to make people comfortable, both Bangladeshi and westerners, and the number of his friends. Vincent Fauveau
 
Mike remained as a friend of the Bangladeshi community living both inside and outside Bangladesh till his death. His research findings played an important role in the decision-making process at the national level and he was regarded as an unbiased researcher. Mike was a person of strong character and never entertained any pressure from outside. He assisted many graduate students by providing data sets and reviewing their research work, and will be remembered by friends living in Dhaka for his hospitality and devotion to work. Ubaidur Rob
 
Mike was one of the best supervisors I’ve worked with so far in Bangladesh and in Australia. He was a great coach and a mentor. He treated his staff with respect, helped them to develop their professional skills. I can tell you with a heavy heart that the international research community has lost a very fine researcher. Md. Shahidullah
 
Although we hardly lived in the same city for more than four years, it did not create any distance between us when we met or talked. The bond of our friendship was strong, heartfelt, genuine and cherished and the closeness took no time to come back whenever we connected. In my relationship with Mike, I not only found friendship, but I also discovered a brother who looked after me.
 
How can I even start to say what Mike means to me? My emotions for him are so overwhelming that no words are enough for me to express –my adoration for him; the fun and joy it brought me to be around him, the pride I felt at his professional achievements; my admiration for the loving and caring husband he was to Gillian and father he was to Mathew and Leah; my awe at his mental and physical strength when he was ill; how touched I am for all the ways in which he showed how much he cared about me; and how blessed I feel to have had Mike as a friend in my life. Kanta Jamil
 
In 1991 Mike recruited me from Australia to join Population Council in Bangladesh. Mike had identified a need to train and support young researchers to work in the broad field of reproductive health. We set up a series of training workshops linked to research grants, which was very effective. His balance of experience and scientific rigor meant that together we could identify important issues, carry out meaningful research, as well as contribute to developing the next generation of researchers – an important goal for Mike.
 
Mike knew everybody – who was capable, who had potential, how to navigate the government system. When he moved to Ford Foundation in Delhi, it was a great loss to Population Council and to reproductive health in Bangladesh. He managed an unusual combination of being a dedicated and very productive scientist with very strong family support. We miss him, and can only imagine what more great things he would have achieved if given a few more well deserved decades on this little planet. Peter Kim Streatfield