Andreas Fanconi passed away at the biblical age of 94 years. He grew up in Zurich as the only child of Guido Fanconi, a paediatrician known worldwide, thanks to the several syndromes carrying his name. Andreas (“Adi”) grew up in Zurich but was always connected to the small village of Poschiavo in the Italian-speaking valley of the Grisons, where his father had grown up. After his medical studies in Zurich, Geneva and Paris, Andreas had training 1954–1956 in Pathology in Zurich, followed by 1 year at the Metabolic Unit of the University College in London where he also met his wife Marguerite Hill, a dietitian to Charles Dent. For further training in internal medicine, he worked at the Dept. of Medicine in Geneva from 1957 to 1959. Although initially determined to work in Internal Medicine, he realised that paediatrics was his field, although it was not an easy decision being the son of a famous paediatrician. From 1959 to 1968, he worked as resident/chief resident at the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, interrupted by a Research Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital in Boston in 1964–1965. His main interests were renal diseases, especially disorders of the calcium–phosphate metabolism and renal tubular disorders, e.g., (pseudo-)hypoparathyroidism, X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets, renal tubular acidosis and cystinosis.

In 1968 he was appointed director of the newly built Children’s Hospital in Winterthur, not far from Zurich. Thanks to his competence, his empathetic character and natural leadership, all team, patients, families and political authorities widely respected him. These medical and personal qualities and competences were exactly the qualifications leading to his nomination in 1986 as Director of the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich and full professorship of Paediatrics, a position he held until 1996.

Andreas was one of the 46 founder members from 22 European countries of the ESPN in 1967 and Assistant Secretary 1971–1976. In addition, he was an active participant of the ISKDC group (International Study of Kidney Disease in Children), which set milestones regarding the understanding, definition and treatment of the nephrotic syndrome in childhood.

Many ESPN members will remember his inspiring and motivating interview given at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the ESPN in Glasgow in Sept 2017. He is survived by his wife Marguerite, 3 children and 7 grandchildren. His ashes rest in his beloved Poschiavo.

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