WFSA history timeline

First World Congress of Anaesthesiologists held in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, on 5-10 September under the patronage of H.M. Queen Juliana.

WFSA founded on 9 September with Harold Griffith as the first President and 26 Member Societies.

The world’s then largest anaesthesiologists’ society, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, joined WFSA.

2nd WCA took place in Toronto, Canada chaired by Professor Roderick A. Gordon with 2000 delegates from 34 countries.

C.R. Ritsema van Eck of the Netherlands elected President.

WFSA’s Executive Committee agreed to promote regional congresses to be staged in between the WCAs.

1st European Congress of Anaesthesiology held in Vienna, Austria under the auspices of WFSA.

1st Asian-Australasian Congress of Anaesthesiology held in Manila, Philippines.

3rd WCA held in Sao Paulo, Brazil under the presidency of Luiz Rodriguez Alves with Carlos Parsloe acting as Chair of the Organising Committee. 1800 delegates attended from 50 countries.

Sir Geoffrey Organe of the UK elected President. 

WFSA decided to work towards establishing regional training centres in co-operation with WHO, national societies, and universities with the first two being in Latin America and the Pacific area

An informal WFSA Secretariat was established in Vienna, Austria.

A WFSA-affiliated ‘Anaesthesia Education and Relief Foundation’ was established to raise funds for educational projects. 

First issue of a WFSA Newsletter, published by Springer and distributed to all Member Societies.

2nd European Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The European Regional Section of WFSA was set up.

First WFSA Regional Training Center opened in Caracas, Venezuela.

1st Arab Congress of Anaesthesiology held in Alexandria, Egypt.

Society of Arab Anaesthetists founded.

4th WCA held in London, United Kingdom with Patrick Shackleton as President of the Organising Committee and four official languages: English, French, German, and Spanish. HM Queen Elizabeth II was Congress Patron. 2800 delegates attended.

F Foldes of the USA elected President. 

West African Society of Anaesthetists, founded in 1965, joined WFSA.

A WFSA Handbook on cardiopulmonary resuscitation written by Peter Safar was published.

WFSA had grown to 59 Member Societies representing well over 20,000 individual anaesthesiologists.

WFSA Committee on Education in Anaesthesiology set up with Albert Betcher (USA) as Chair.

3rd Asian and Australasian Congress of Anaesthesiology (AACA) hosted by the Australian Society in Canberra.

3rd European Congress held in Prague, Czech Republic.

New Asian-Australasian Regional Section of WFSA set up with membership from Australia, Ceylon, Republic of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Opening of the WFSA Western Pacific Training Center in Manila, Philippines with assistance from the Regional WHO Office.

In his annual report for 1971 published in Newsletter 8, issued in April 1972, the WFSA Secretary stated that the Federation “at the moment has 60 member societies with a total membership of close to 28,000, the regional distribution of which is the following: North America 2 societies, approximately 11,000 members, Latin America 14 societies, approximately 3,500 members, Europe 25 societies, approximately 11,000 members, Africa and the Middle East 7 societies, approximately 400 members, Asia and Australasia 12 societies, approximately 2,000 members”.

5th WCA held in Kyoto, Japan with Professor Hideo Yamamura as Congress President. The first WFSA Presidential Medallion was commissioned for this meeting and was presented by Professor Foldes, outgoing President, to Otto Mayrhofer of Austria, newly elected President.

4th AACA held in Singapore.

4th European Congress held in Madrid, Spain.

6th WCA held in Mexico City, Mexico with Guillermo Vasconcelos as Congress President.

First non-European or North American President elected; Quintin J Gomez from the Philippines.

The European Academy of Anaesthesiology was founded at the 5th European Congress of Anaesthesiology held in Paris, France; an idea which had its roots in discussions held at the 6th WCA in 1976.

5th AACA held in New Delhi, India.

7th WCA held in Hamburg, Germany with Erich Rügheimer as Congress President and 5,695 delegates. This was the first WCA which was attended by representatives of the Society of Anaesthesiologists of China.

JJ Bonica of the USA elected President.

6th AACA held in Auckland, New Zealand.

6th European Congress held in London, United Kingdom.

8th WCA held in Manila, Philippes with Quintin Gomez as Congress President.

C Parsloe of Brazil elected President. 

A series of WFSA Lectures in Anaesthesiology co-edited by John Zorab and Jack Moyers were published by Blackwell 1984-88.

WFSA became recognised as a Non-State Actor in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and participated in a WHO-convened meeting to discuss anaesthesia (attendees from WFSA were John Zorab, Patricia Coyle, Say Wan Lim, Howard Zauder, and Mike Dobson).

WFSA received tax-exempt status in the USA.

7th European Congress held in Vienna, Austria.

7th AACA held in Hong Kong SAR.

Following the 7th AACA, a post-congress meeting was held in Beijing (the Beijing Symposium of Anaesthesiology), the first international anaesthesiology conference ever held in China.

First WFSA Refresher Course held in Nairobi, Kenya. Regular courses were subsequently held across Africa, in both English and French.

European Society of Anaesthesiologists (ESA) set up.

9th WCA held in Washington D.C., USA with J Moyers as Congress President.

John Zorab of the UK elected President. 

The Chinese Society of Anesthesiology joined WFSA.

CLASA became a regional section of WFSA.

‘Anaesthesia at the District Hospital District Hospital’ authored by Mike Dobson was published by WHO.

WFSA worked with WHO to jointly develop a performance standard for oxygen concentrators.

First annual meeting of WFSA Officers held.

John Zorab arranged for the Wood Library Museum to become the official repository of WFSA‘s archives.

8th AACA held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

8th European Congress held in Warsaw, Poland.

First WFSA Refresher Course held in Europe; in Moscow, Russia.

Second edition of the WFSA Obstetric Anaesthesia Handbook was published.

First ‘Update in Anaesthesia’ edition published, instigated by Iain Wilson of the UK.

Mike Dobson appointed WFSA Liaison Officer with WHO.

10th WCA held in The Hague, Netherlands with Harm Lip as Congress President.

S Lim of Malaysia elected President. 

WFSA Training Centre initiated at the Soroka Medical Centre at Beer Sheva, Israel.

WFSA Publications Committee set up.  

WFSA Handbooks on ‘Basic Techniques of Nerve Blockade’ and ‘Basic Considerations of Paediatric Anaesthesia’ published. 

‘International Standards for the Safe Practice of Anaesthesia’ published by WFSA and agreed by Member Societies. (Eur J Anaesthesiol (1993) [Suppl 17]:12–15)

First conference of the European Society of Anaesthesiologists was held.

Joseph Rupreht of the Netherlands appointed as first honorary archivist of WFSA.

9th AACA held in Bangkok, Thailand.

WFSA opened an office in the UK, renting space from the Royal College of Anaesthetists. This was initially co-located with the European Diploma in Anaesthesiology.

WHO Assistant Director General Dr Antesana invited WFSA to participate in a formal review of the overall programme for health technology at WHO.

11th WCA held in Sydney, Australia with R Walsh as Congress President.

Michael Vickers of the UK elected President. 

WFSA training centre set up in Bangkok, Thailand for doctors from Cambodia and Laos to train for 12-months.

WFSA Publications Committee set up with Roger Eltringham of the UK as inaugural chair.

Second WFSA Fellowship launched at Calvo McKenna Hospital in Santiago, Chile focused on paediatric anaesthesia.

African Regional Section created with Dorothy Ffoulkes-Crabbe of Nigeria as inaugural chair.

First African Regional Congress held in Harare, Zimbabwe. 

First WFSA Fellowship launched in Durban, South Africa for 3 months residential training in obstetric anaesthesia.

WFSA relocated to its own office in central London (Imperial House, Kingsway) with Karen McMurchy as full-time administrative coordinator.

The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) supported WFSA’s ‘Distance-Learning Project’ in sub-saharan Africa.

First PTC course took place in Suva, Fiji.

A WFSA-sponsored course to teach anaesthetists how to service their equipment was held in Tanzania.

10th AACA held in Taipei, Taiwan, China.

10th European Congress held in Frankfurt, Germany. At this, the European Regional Section officially changed its name to the Confederation of European National Societies of Anaesthesia (CENSA).

European Federation of Anaesthesiology (EFA) formed as an umbrella organisation encompassing the EAA, ESA, and CENSA. 

Agreement that the European Journal of Anaesthesia would be the official journal of all the EFA organisations and their logos would be appended to the front cover. 

WFSA Training Centre set up in Accra, Ghana in collaboration with the American Society.

12th WCA held in Montreal, Canada with Angela Enright as Congress President. 

TC Kester Brown of Australia elected President. 

The General Assembly approved the setting up of a legally independent Foundation to raise funds for charitable WFSA activities.

A new handbook – ‘The Clinical Use of Blood’ – was published by WFSA and WHO (with contributions from Richard Page, Anthony Chisakuta, Laurie Marks, Henry Bukwirwa, Mike Dobson, Dixon Tembo, Paul Fenton, and Meena Cherian.

11th European Congress held in Florence, Italy in collaboration with the Italian Society.  

2nd All-Africa Anaesthesia Congress held in Durban, South Africa. 

Ruth Hooper hired as WFSA Administrative Coordinator, a position she would hold until retirement in 2013.

11th AAAC held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

12th European Congress held in Glasgow, United Kingdom in collaboration with the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.  

A WFSA cardiovascular training centre was established in Santiago, Chile.

13th WCA held in Paris, France with Philippe Scherpereel as Congress President.

Election of WFSA’s first female President, Anneke Meursing of the Netherlands.

Celebration of WFSA’s 50th anniversary with the publication of a special historical volume edited by Antonino Gullo and Joseph Rupreht.

12th AAAC held in Singapore.

WFSA representatives including Alan Merry and Iain Wilson were involved in the creation of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.

14th WCA held in Cape Town, South Africa. Angela Enright of Canada elected President.

13th AACA held in Fukuoka, Japan.

First EPM course took place in Lae, PNG.

WFSA supported the setting up of Lifebox Foundation, the world’s only nonprofit dedicated to anaesthesia and surgery safety, with WFSA President Angela Enright and Treasurer Alan Merry becoming members of the Lifebox Board of Trustees.

First SAFE courses delivered in Uganda as a collaboration between WFSA and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

SAFE Obstetrics course developed in Mbarara, Uganda, 2011.

SAFE Training of Trainers piloted in Uganda, 2011.

WFSA involved in developing a new ISO standard 8835–7:2011 for anaesthetic systems for use in areas with limited logistical supplies of electricity and anesthetic gases.

15th WCA held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. David Wilkinson of the UK elected President.

Appointment of first WFSA Chief Executive Officer, Julian Gore-Booth.

A separate UK charity was set up as a humanitarian arm of WFSA.

European Society of Anaesthesiology (President Daniela Filipescu) formally becomes the European regional section of the WFSA

SAFE Paediatrics course developed in Masaka, Uganda, 2014.

A new Global Health section in Anesthesia & Analgesia was launched as a collaboration between WFSA and the IARS.

Launch of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.

Passing of WHO’s Resolution 68.15.

16th WCA held in Hong Kong SAR. Gonzalo Barreiro of Uruguay and Jannicke Mellin-Olsen from Norway elected Presidents. Length of WFSA Presidency was reduced from four years to two years. Gonzalo Barreiro term of office: 2016-2018.

A new WFSA ‘Gender Balance Committee’ was set up.

Launch of the first WFSA Innovation Awards, supported by Fresenius Kabi.

Publication of first Global Anaesthesia Workforce Survey.

Release of WFSA’s Position Statement on Anaesthesiology and Universal Health Coverage.

WHO-WFSA International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anesthesia published. 

Jannicke Mellin-Olsen of Norway took over as President.

SAFE Operating Room course developed in Uganda, 2018.

Project started to develop the Utstein Surgical Indicators, building on the work of the Lancet Commission. 

WFSA’s Anaesthesia Facility Assessment Tool launched

COVID-19 pandemic caused delay and eventual ‘virtualisation’ of the 17th WCA, due to be held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Adrian Gelb of the USA and Wayne Morriss from New Zealand elected Presidents. Adrian Gelb term of office: 2020-2022.

17th WCA held as an online (virtual) congress.

Principles of environmentally-sustainable anaesthesia: a global consensus statement published. 

Publication of WFSA Minimum Capnometer Specifications.

SAFE Online course developed in 2021, mainly aimed at an audience from South India (Telangana).

Wayne Morriss of New Zealand took over as President. 

Kristine Stave took over as CEO.

Santa Cruz Patient Blood Management (PBM) regional declaration launched.

SAFE Paediatrics-Cleft course developed in Kampala, Uganda 2022.

Celebration of anaesthesia’s female innovators, pioneers and champions as part of the International Day of Women & Girls in Science.

First multi-year WFSA Strategy published. 

First annual theme celebrated: Oncoanaesthesia.

18th WCA held in Singapore with over 5,500 delegates participating in-person. 

Daniela Filipescu of Romania elected President; Carolina Haylock Loor of Honduras elected President Elect.

Annual theme: Workforce Well-being

Update to the WFSA global anaesthesia workforce survey published. 

Position statement on safety for anaesthesia workforce in regions of conflict.

Launch of WFSA Global Anaesthesia Mentoring Programme.

Celebration of WFSA’s 70th anniversary.

Annual theme: Anaesthesiology in health emergencies.

100th signature of the global Santa Cruz PBM Declaration.

Launch of WFSA declaration on labour pain

Obituary of a previous WFSA Council Member, Prof. Benjamin Drenger