Lium, Rolf (b. March 29, 1907, Minnesota?, USA – d. September 1986, Rye, New Hampshire, USA), physician and director. Lium served as chief physician at the American Hospital from 1962 to 1966.
After completing a bachelor’s degree at Carleton College in Northfield Minnesota and a medical degree at Harvard Medical School, Lium began working in Boston. In 1941, while working in Portsmouth Hospital in New Hampshire, he passed the American Board of Surgery exams to become a surgeon.
After coming to Istanbul in June 1962, Dr. Lium became the American Hospital's chief physician, developing new medical services and establishing cancer therapy and pediatric centers. During the same period, he also endeavored to increase the caliber of medical staff at the hospital. In July 1967, he resigned from his position and returned to the United States for “personal and family reasons”.
Vehbi Koç paid tribute to him with the following words, “Rolf Lium was a hard worker. He greatly expanded our hospital and found help from the United States to improve the administration and fix the finances.”
Dr. Lium’s three act play, Kemal, about the Ottoman palace and Atatürk's battles with the palace, was published in Switzerland in 1966.