re-elected as vice president of America's largest doctors union.

Dr. Brown, who was first elected to the vice presidency of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists in 1994, ran unopposed at the organisation's Triennial Convention in San Francisco earlier this year.

"If the interests of patients are to be protected, someone must look at the collective interests of doctors,'' Opposition MP Dr. Brown remarked after his re-election.

And UAPD president Robert Weinmann said: "We are delighted to have a man of Dr. Brown's international experience and stature on our executive.'' The UAPD has more than 1,250 members, the majority of whom are based in California, where Dr. Brown practised for many years.