UK: AIDS Charity Head Given Knighthood

Nick Partridge, the head of UK's oldest HIV/AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, was knighted yesterday.

A leading UK HIV campaigner who has strived to transform attitudes towards HIV/Aids and to the role of gay men and women in society has been knighted. Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, was recognised for his 20-year service to healthcare. Sir Nick said his knighthood on the New Year list was "great recognition of the pioneering work of Terrence Higgins Trust."

The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) was the first charity to be set up in response to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Its roots were in the gay community and, for many years, the HIV epidemic in the UK affected mainly gay men. As the shape of the epidemic changed, so did the THT, under the guidance of Sir Nick. He joined the Trust in 1985 as the office manager, one of only two full-time paid posts, and became its head in 1991. He was tasked with overcoming public anti-gay prejudice and convincing politicians about the urgency of the HIV situation. He has campaigned hard for research funding and progress and now, thanks to pioneering medical work and the discovery of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s, the diagnosis of HIV is no longer a death sentence.

Congrats to Sir Nick!