Suleiman Saleem Dahabreh was a key figure in progressing medical and surgical training in Jordan and was the founder and first president of the Jordanian Association of Urological Surgeons. He was born in Shatana, a farming village in the north of Jordan, in 1933. His father, Saleem Issa, died when he was only 40 days old, and he was raised by his mother, Seteh Mousa, along with his two brothers and two sisters. In the absence of secondary schools in his village, he left his home after elementary school to move to study in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and lived with his siblings who had moved to the city before him. He then went to Cairo as a teenager to complete his final years of secondary education, after which he enrolled to study medicine at Ain Shams University, Cairo. As a Jordanian student in Egypt, he was witness to the political and cultural events that took place there at the 1950s. It was a unique time of heightened political engagement in the Middle East. Suleiman became engaged in politics as a writer and a poet. Following the attack on the Suez Canal in 1956, one of the poems he wrote about the battle of Port Said became very popular and was published in several newspapers and recited over the radio daily, such that it became a form of national anthem. It was sung by three singers at the time, including the famous Fayda Kamel. The poem earned him the prestigious Supreme Council of Literature and Arts medal presented by the intellectual, Taha Hussein. His poems earned him the title of ‘our national poet’ by his friends and colleagues. Upon his return to Jordan in 1958, he dedicated his time to the public sector and took a job at the Ministry of Health, where he was appointed to hospitals in cities across Jordan. These included Al-Karak, Bethlehem and Jerusalem (then under Jordanian jurisdiction), Al-Salt, and Amman. He spoke fondly of his time in these cities, where he made good friends. Working alongside British-trained surgeons in Jordan fostered a strong interest in furthering his surgical training in the United Kingdom, and he obtained two scholarships from the Ministry of Health to do so: the first in 1967 to attend Guy’s Hospital in London, where he received his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the second to complete his specialisation in urology at St Margaret’s Hospital in Portsmouth in 1974. He was very fond of his time in England, and London grew to become one of his most beloved cities, which he frequented often in his life. Suleiman played a pivotal and pioneering role in developing the medical sector in Jordan. He was involved in two notable projects: the establishment of the Jordan University Hospital (previously known at the Grand Amman Hospital), and the establishment of the faculty of medicine at the University of Jordan. The idea of establishing these institutions was unimaginable at the time, but they were driven by the ambition of like-minded colleagues and pioneers to train knowledgeable doctors that would continue to help their communities. He was also directly involved with the establishment of the Jordan Medical Council as the main governing body for medical education, training and accreditation. Following his service with the Ministry of Health, he was appointed as an associate professor of general surgery and urology at the Jordan University Hospital, and subsequently moved into private practice in Amman in the 1980s. Throughout his career, which spanned 60 years, he received many awards for his services to his profession and country, including the Jordanian Order of Independence medal. Until his final days, he was greeting patients at his clinic with an energetic smile. Suleiman was a loving husband to his wife Fadia Tadros, and a devoted father to four; Lana (an ophthalmologist), Ziad (an orthopaedic surgeon), Lara (an architect) and Rami (a mechanical engineer). Suleiman was happiest when he was around his family and friends, and spending time with his three grandchildren. He also loved gardening, and in his later years spent a lot of his time outdoors, tending to his plants. He passed away peacefully on 5 January 2019 at the age of 86, leaving behind him numerous grateful patients, adoring students and countless loving friends and colleagues.