Public health expert Professor Ivan Browne nearly missed the news of a lifetime after his New Year’s Honours letter went unopened – until his wife brought it to his attention.
For sitting in his pile of post was a letter from Buckingham Palace, letting him know he was being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in this year’s honours list.
Professor Browne, Professor of Public Health and Social Determinants of Health at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), said: “I honestly hadn’t seen it, and my wife passed it over and said, ‘there’s a letter here for you’ and I saw it said His Majesty on the envelope. I thought at first that it was something about my work as one of the Deputy Lord Lieutenants.
“When I finally opened it and read it, it was like time stopped. I was so stunned, I couldn’t take it in. I just handed it to my wife and said ‘does this say what I think it says?’. I was genuinely amazed and I still don’t really believe it.”
Professor Browne becomes an OBE in recognition of his lifetime commitment to tackling health inequalities and improving community wellbeing, particularly his pivotal role leading the city’s public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic as Leicester came under the national spotlight.
“While it’s lovely, I think it’s not about me – it’s about the city, about who we are and how we came together during that time. That’s something special to me because I’m a Leicester boy.”
The Royal accolade announced today marks another milestone in a career dedicated to public health.
In December 2023, he was presented with the 2023 Chief Medical Officer’s National Impact Award from the Association of Directors of Public Health. In 2022, the association gave the entire council public health team an award in recognition of their work in developing the first local contact tracing service in the country and developing a network of Community Health and Wellbeing Champions.
Professor Browne, who joins other OBEs announced in this year’s list including swimmer Duncan Scott, rower Helen Glover, actress Anne-Marie Duff, actor Kevin Whately, racing driver turned commentator Martin Brundle, and football manager David Moyes, said he will probably plan a low-key celebration with friends in the summer.
Professor Browne joined DMU in September 2023 after stepping down from his position as director of public health at Leicester City Council. He remains a non-executive director of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust alongside his professorship at DMU and continues to drive change in tackling health inequalities.
He said: “It’s different to what I was doing before, but the work is still about inequality and having these conversations about public health, and having the chance to bring that to students. To be recognised in my home city and while at DMU, a university which is one of the most diverse in the county, is lovely.”
Posted on Tuesday 31 December 2024