AHMAD Cheema has received an MBE in the King’s New Year’s Honours List for “services to the Falkland Islands.”
Mr Cheema worked at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) as the consultant surgeon for 23 years before his retirement in October 2025.
Responding to the news and well wishers on social media, Mr Cheema said, “I am honoured and humbled by the love and appreciation shown to me by the wonderful community of Falkland Islands.
“You all have been my family to me and Falklands has been my home. My time in the Falklands is unforgettable for me and the relationships that I have gained are priceless.
“I am overwhelmed by everyone’s response and grateful for this honour.”
He told Penguin News that he learnt of the news via a phone call from His Excellency Colin Martin-Reynolds, “it was a total surprise for me and it took me a few seconds to believe what I was hearing.
“I was overwhelmed by a profound sense of joy and appreciation for all the love I have received from the Falklands community.
“Serving the people of Falkland was a great honour for me already and an award in itself. Getting the news for the MBE nominated by the community of Falkland was a heartfelt recognition and I was deeply touched by it.”
Mr Cheema was first employed by the KEMH in 2001, initially on a short term locum position before becoming the consultant surgeon on a long term basis. The role of surgeon is “unusually demanding” a representative of the hospital explained, as it requires being on-call continuously, often for several months at a time, as well as assessing and treating patients across the “whole spectrum of surgical practice.”
Mr Cheema was “ideally suited to the role, having unusually wide-ranging skills and epitomising the title of ‘general surgeon’ which is increasingly rare in the present age of sub-specialisation.”
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rebecca Edwards commented that, “Mr Cheema made a remarkable contribution to the health and wellbeing of people across the Falkland Islands.
“His commitment to providing high quality surgical care in a remote and challenging environment over the 23 years he worked at the KEMH was outstanding…
“This honour is richly deserved and all his former colleagues at KEMH are delighted to see his work recognised.”
Speaking of his decision to retire and leave the Falklands Mr Cheema explained that while he enjoyed his work and being an active member of the community, he felt it was time to retire, “it was not easy for me to leave Falkland as I did my work with the entirety of my heart and every single moment of performing it was a profound joy. Hence leaving Falklands after retirement gravely saddened me and leaving Falklands community behind eventually became a very difficult task for me.
“However, now that I have; I still feel as if some part of me is still left in the Falklands with the people. The good memories still come back to me. I feel that I am forever linked to it and Falklands will always be my second home.”