Obituary

7 July 1956–24 August 2005

For many of us the untimely death of Dr Marianne Heger at the age of 49 was unexpected. Those with whom she used to work, suspected an illness, however, no clear signals were received about the severity. That made the shock created by her decease even greater.

After becoming a Doctor of Medicine in 1986 she followed a postgraduate education in naturopathy, homeopathy and acupuncture. She gained practical experience in internal medicine and had a private practice until 1992. She took positions as a Medical Advisor at Bristol-Meyers Squibb and in international marketing at Knoll AG before becoming Director of Science and Research at the Deutsche Homoöpathie Union in Karlsruhe.

Marianne was the driving force behind many research projects and a great propagator of outcomes and observational studies. That resulted in IIPCOS-1 an international prospective outcome study executed in six study centers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the USA.

She was a member of among other organisations, the German Association of Homeopathic Doctors, the Association of Naturopathic Doctors, the American Institute of Health (AIH), the International Homoeopathic Medical League (LMHI), the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS), she could count on a vast network of prominent homeopaths and innovative researchers. Her name is connected with an impressive list of publications and projects.

I will remember Marianne as one of the few who saw the need for a European coalition of manufacturers of homeopathic medicinal products. She devoted part of her abundant energy in the conversion of EACH (European American Coalition on Homeopathy) into ECHAMP (European Coalition on Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products). She was an ECHAMP Board Member from the founding of the organization in 1999 until 2003 when she was vice-president and a member of the public relations working group and of course the research working group. With her vision she had a roadmap clear in her mind and sometimes wondered why others could not follow her quick pace.

Her creative powers, sense of responsibility and extraordinary expertise made her a special person. The overall objective was always to support and expand the science base of homeopathy—an aim she pursued with an incredible commitment. The homeopathic community will miss her.