Dr. H. Richard Nesson '54, president emeritus of Brigham and Women's Hospital and professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, died on Sunday. He was 66.

In his 15 years as president, from 1982 to 1997, Nesson supervised the 1993 merger of Brigham and Women's and Mass. General, joining two of Boston's foremost teaching hospitals to create Partners HealthCare System Inc.

Nesson served as the first CEO of the newly integrated system from 1994 to 1997.

"The countless achievements Dick Nesson has accomplished in his lifetime speak for themselves and match or exceed those of the most noted leaders in academic medicine in the country," said Dr. Samuel O. Thier, who succeeded Nesson as president and CEO of Partners HealthCare.

Thier added: "But what has set him apart in the eyes of so many, from his thousands of employees to his peers, was the kind, generous and sincere manner in which he dealt with everyone."

Nesson was also the founder and first medical director of the Harvard Community Health Plan, now Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, and he served as the chair of the Harvard Medical Center AIDS Committee.

Nesson was also chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, director of the Massachusetts United Way and a member of the Policy Advisory Committee of the state Supreme Judicial Court.

Several public officials lauded Nesson's contribution to health care and to the Massachusetts medical community.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) met Nesson as an undergraduate at the College. Kennedy called Nesson a "visionary" and "one of the architects of Boston's worldwide preeminence in healthcare."

"I've lost a good friend and Massachusetts has lost a distinguished leader in health care," Kennedy said.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino also praised Nesson, calling him "a towering figure in Boston's medical community and civic affairs."

"He was a great friend and mentor to me in the area of health care access," Menino added.

Nesson received numerous awards throughout his career for his work as a hospital administrator.

In 1997, the Massachusetts Health Council honored Nesson for his "out-standing contributions to the advancement of the general health of the citizens of the Commonwealth."

In 1996, Nesson was elected to the prestigiousInstitute of Medicine, a branch of the NationalAcademy of Sciences.

Nesson also won the Maimonides Award from theAnti-Defamation League in 1988.

Nesson leaves his wife, Lois; a son, Ted, anddaughter-in-law Susan; a daughter, Sara; twosisters, Marilyn Mann of Gloucester and Lois Cohenof Glencoe, Ill.; and two grandchildren, Alexandraand Michaela.

Funeral services were held yesterday at TempleIsrael in Boston. In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made to the H. Richard Nesson, M.D.,Fellowship, Development Office, Brigham andWomen's Hospital, 116 Huntington Ave., Boston,02116