Career

Medical Career

Sheares first distinguished himself in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), obtaining several firsts for Singapore in this field. He was the first Singaporean to specialise in O&G; the first local to be appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Malaya in Singapore, a post usually reserved for colonials; and the first medical practitioner in Singapore to use the lower segment method of performing Caesarean sections. He was a pioneer for this gynaecological procedure, which was named after him, and became internationally recognised after he published a paper on it in 1960. Despite criticism from his peers, he was a strong advocator of voluntary sterilisation and family planning.

He began his career in Obstetrician and Gynaecology (O&G) in April 1931 after serving two years at the Sepoy Lines General Hospital. He was awarded the Queen's Fellowship in 1940, a two-year postgraduate scholarship in Britain. but had to postpone this owing to the outbreak of World War II. During the Japanese Occupation, he continued to distinguish himself as a gynaecologist becoming head of Kandang Kerbau's (now KK Hospital's), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After the war years, the King Edward VII College of Medicine appointed him as acting Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He was also active in the Family Planning Association.

Political Career

Sheares was made President a mere two months after Yusof Ishak's death. He maintained a humble life, despite his new position, returning to his home daily at Holt Road for lunch and dinner. He refused a higher salary for his role and took six months to agree to his third term as President in 1978. During the tenth year of his presidency, Sheares collapsedand fell into coma for five days before passing away. The popular president had 85,000 people turned up at the Istana to pay their last respects.