Bertrand Cramer, who died in January 2026, was one of the most influential figures in Geneva child psychiatry. A professor emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine since 1999, he leaves behind a considerable scientific, institutional and human legacy.

Coming from a family of bankers, his choice of medicine bore early witness to the freedom that would characterise his entire career. After studying at the Faculty of Medicine in Geneva, he chose to specialise in child psychiatry. He anchored his practice in scientific rigour at a time when it risked becoming closed in on a purely psychoanalytical culture. In 1960, he left to settle in New York. This ten-year stay proved decisive for the 26-year-old man, who discovered an innovative medical culture marked by the organisation of care and great intellectual freedom. This American experience forged his taste for scientific publication and academic excellence.

Upon his return to Switzerland, Bertrand Cramer established a private practice whilst also serving as consultant at the University Children's Hospital in Lausanne and at the Medical-Educational Service in Geneva. Very quickly, he participated in a founding enterprise: the creation of the child guidance unit at the HUG (Geneva University Hospitals), where he became the first chief physician. This unit became the cornerstone of the future child and adolescent psychiatry service, giving a hospital foundation to infant clinical work, work with parents and early prevention.

Influenced by Brazelton and Tronick, he introduced to Geneva the rigorous observation of early mother-infant interactions, helping to establish recognition of the scientific value of this new clinical field. His filmed and analysed mother-infant psychotherapies, his work on brief therapies and the development of very early disorders remain reference points, particularly for French-speaking child psychiatry. This articulation between clinical practice, observation and methodology remains one of his hallmarks. On the academic front, his appointment to the position of full professor in 1989 consecrated the scientific scope of his research.

A charismatic teacher full of humour, his course on medical psychiatry, taught from 1973 onwards, inspired countless vocations. Even after his retirement, he led a seminar for twenty years from which he would emerge "always exhausted but very happy". Bertrand Cramer was also an exceptional mentor. Warm, free-spirited, endowed with great self-confidence, he supported his colleagues, genuinely delegated and placed them on an equal footing. His leadership, founded on trust and freedom, enabled everyone to grow without dependency. His humanitarian commitment, particularly to Romanian orphanages after the fall of Ceaușescu, bears witness to his profound humanity in the face of the horror of totalitarian systems and marked him deeply. Thanks to him, Geneva child psychiatry today rests on solid institutions and enjoys strong international recognition. His pioneering work, and above all his way of exercising his responsibility founded on trust, rigour and freedom, constitute a legacy passed on to an entire generation of child psychiatrists.