Mukesh Chandra Haikerwal (born 28 December 1960) is a British-Australian medical doctor practising in Melbourne. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), and in 2011 became a Companion of the Order of Australia. Through his involvement in several not-for-profit organisations, Haikerwal is a strong advocate for better working conditions for medical staff. Early in 2020, Haikerwal coordinated and led ongoing lobbying for the provision of adequate supplies of protective equipment for those dealing with COVID-19 pandemic. Early life and education The child of Indian-born British citizens who were working for the UN in Nigeria, Haikerwal, born in Lucknow, India, was sent to a London boarding school at the age of six. In 1981, the year he started medical school in the English city of Leicester, his mother left for Australia to join his father who had migrated the year before. In 1990, Haikerwal, by then married, arrived in Melbourne and set up the Altona North Medical Practice where he still works. Medical career Haikerwal was employed for some time as a doctor at Leicester General Hospital. Haikerwal travelled to Australia in 1982 to visit his family and the country. Eight years later, he emigrated permanently and set up a general practice in Melbourne's western suburbs, where he still works. He is a professor in the School of Medicine at Flinders University and a director at Brain Injury Australia. In 2020, Haikerwal was appointed as an Honorary Enterprise Professor at The University of Melbourne taking a lead role as Clinical Chief Investigator in a research programme, Future Health Today which has the aim of detecting chronic disease earlier in people at risk. Associations He has held several roles within the Australian Medical Association (AMA), elected vice-president of the Victorian branch in 1998; Victorian branch president in 2001; moving to federal vice-president before taking on the role of federal president between 2005 and 2007. Haikerwal is an advisor for Her Heart, a not-for-profit focused on the prevention of women's heart disease, and was Chair of the Beyond Blue National Doctors’ Mental Health Program from 2015 to 2021. In April 2011, he was appointed Chair of the World Medical Association. He works with Cancer Victoria to improve advocacy and knowledge of cancer, cancer care, and facilities. The Australian Minister of Health, Peter Dutton, announced in July 2014 the appointment of Haikerwal as Chair of the