Ernst Kuipers
{{Short description|Dutch gastroenterologist and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Ernst Kuipers
|image = 220107Ernst Kuipers34 (cropped).jpg
|caption = Kuipers in 2022
|office = Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
|term_start = 10 January 2022
|term_end = 10 January 2024
|primeminister = Mark Rutte
|predecessor = Hugo de Jonge
|successor = Conny Helder
|office1 = Chief Executive Officer of the
Erasmus University Medical Center
|term_start1 = 15 March 2013
|term_end1 = January 2022
|predecessor1 = Hans Büller
|successor1 = Stefan Sleijfer (ad interim)
|office2 = Chairman of the
National Acute Care Network
|term_start2 = 2015
|term_end2 = January 2022
|predecessor2 = {{Ill|Jos Aartsen|nl}}
|successor2 =
|birthname = Ernst Johan Kuipers
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|12|14|df=y}}
|birth_place = Meppel, Netherlands
|death_date =
|death_place =
|nationality = Dutch
|party = Democrats 66
|spouse =
|children = 4
|residence =
|alma_mater = University of Groningen
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
|occupation = {{hlist|Physician|politician}}
|signature =
|website =
}}
Ernst Johan Kuipers ({{IPA|nl|ˈɛrnst ˈjoːɦɑŋ ˈkœypərs}}; born 14 December 1959) is a Dutch gastroenterologist, professor and politician who served as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport in the fourth Rutte cabinet from 2022 until 2024.{{cite web |title=Dr. E.J. (Ernst) Kuipers |url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vlp7d6vlebzg/e_j_ernst_kuipers |website=Parlement.com |access-date=23 January 2022 |language=nl}} He is a member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party.
Early life and education
Kuipers was born in 1959 in Meppel, Drenthe and grew up in Creil, Flevoland.{{cite web |title=Dokterszoon Ernst Kuipers uit Noordoostpolder kent de zorg |url=https://denoordoostpolder.nl/noordoostpolder/Dokterszoon-Ernst-Kuipers-uit-Noordoostpolder-kent-de-zorg-27374102.html |website=De Noordoostpolder |access-date=23 January 2022 |language=nl |date=3 January 2022}} His father was a general practitioner and his mother a pharmacist. He attended secondary school in Emmeloord, where he completed the gymnasium curriculum in 1978.{{cite web |title=Ernst Kuipers |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/regering/bewindspersonen/ernst-kuipers |website=Rijksoverheid.nl |date=5 January 2022 |access-date=23 January 2022 |language=nl}} After obtaining a propaedeutic diploma (propedeuse) in chemistry, he studied medicine at the University of Groningen. Kuipers specialized in internal medicine and gastroenterology, and obtained a doctorate from the VU University Medical Center (now, Amsterdam University Medical Centers) in 1995.
Career
Between 1995 and 1997, Kuipers worked as a research associate at the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite web |title=Prof. Ernst J. Kuipers, MD PhD, Head of Department |url=http://www.gastrolab.nl/CV's/kuipers.html |website=Gastrolab.nl |access-date=23 January 2022}}
In 2000, Kuipers was appointed professor and head of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Erasmus University Medical Center (EMC). In this capacity, he led a widely reported 2007 study published in the journal Gut which showed that new cases of stomach cancer would likely fall 25 percent over the following 10 years in Western countries because of better living conditions.Michael Kahn (14 August 2007), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cancer-stomach-idUSL1338783420070814 Stomach cancer to fall 25 percent in 10 years: study] Reuters.
Kuipers became a member of the board of directors of the Erasmus University Medical Center in 2012, and he was appointed chief executive officer on 15 March 2013. He was awarded the United European Gastroenterology Research Prize of €100,000 in 2016.{{cite web |title=Ernst Johan KUIPERS |url=https://www.ehmsg.org/kuipers |website=ehmsg.org |publisher=European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group |access-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106120337/https://www.ehmsg.org/kuipers |archive-date=6 January 2024}} In addition to his role at the EMC, Kuipers started serving as chairman of the National Acute Care Network (LNAZ) in 2015. In this position, he played a prominent role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, coordinating the distribution of patients across intensive care units in the country.{{Cite news |url = https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/01/11/kuipers-begon-met-hoge-verwachtingen-maar-stuitte-in-de-zorg-op-weerstand-en-taaie-dossiers-a4186709 |url-access = subscription |date = 11 January 2024 |last = Van den Dool |first = Pim |access-date = 18 January 2024 |language = nl |website = NRC |title = Kuipers begon met hoge verwachtingen, maar stuitte als zorgminister op weerstand en taaie dossiers |trans-title = Expectations of Kuipers were high, but he was met by resistance and tough issues as healthcare minister }}
= Minister of Health, 2022–2024 =
On 10 January 2022, Kuipers joined the fourth Rutte cabinet as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, on behalf of the Democrats 66. He had been politically unaffiliated before. The installation of the new cabinet occurred during the last COVID-19 lockdown in the Netherlands, and Kuipers was able to announce a relaxation of restrictions that same month. He would later oppose the establishment of treatment centers for long COVID.
Kuipers argued the Dutch healthcare system was no longer top-tier, pointing at shortages of general practitioners and dentists as well as long waiting lists for mental healthcare. He said healthcare had to be reformed to remain sustainable and affordable in times of an ageing population, and he posed increased cooperation and centralization, especially of specialized care, and the replacement of competition by cooperation as solutions. He signed the Integrated Healthcare Agreement in September 2022 to tackle future affordability issues and to improve cooperation between healthcare providers. Furthermore, Kuiper decided to reduce the number of specialized pediatric cardiac surgery centers in the Netherlands from four to two. The impacted hospitals took legal action, and the court later blocked the plans.{{Cite news |url = https://nos.nl/artikel/2504508-rechter-zet-streep-door-plan-voor-sluiting-twee-locaties-kinderhartchirurgie |date = 11 January 2024 |access-date = 13 January 2024 |language = nl |website = NOS |title = Rechter zet streep door plan voor sluiting twee locaties kinderhartchirurgie |trans-title = Court blocks plans to close two pediatric cardiac surgery locations }} Kuipers did not manage to finish centralization plans in acute care amongst opposition from its trade association. He also determined breast cancer patients would not be reimbursed for the novel medicine Trodelvy due to its high costs. He admitted such decisions would become more common in the future.
Kuipers stepped down as minister on 10 January 2024, when the cabinet had become demissionary, to pursue an unspecified international role.{{Cite news |url = https://nos.nl/artikel/2504401-ook-minister-kuipers-d66-van-volksgezondheid-per-direct-weg |date = 10 January 2024 |access-date = 13 January 2024 |language = nl |website = NOS |title = Ook minister Kuipers (D66) van Volksgezondheid per direct weg |trans-title = Health care minister Kuipers (D66) also resigns effective immediately }} He was succeeded by Minister for Long-term Care and Sport Conny Helder (VVD), while Pia Dijkstra became Minister for Medical Care on behalf of D66.{{Cite news |url = https://www.trouw.nl/politiek/pia-dijkstra-wordt-minister-voor-medische-zorg~b8d081ee/ |agency = ANP |date = 1 February 2024 |access-date = 4 February 2024 |language = nl |website = Trouw |title = Pia Dijkstra wordt minister voor medische zorg |trans-title = Pia Dijkstra will become Minister for Medicale Care }} It was announced several weeks later that Kuipers would join Nanyang Technological University in Singapore as Vice President of Research as well as distinguished professor starting 1 May.{{Cite news |url = https://nos.nl/artikel/2509882-oud-minister-kuipers-naar-universiteit-in-singapore |date = 22 February 2024 |access-date = 22 February 2024 |language = nl |website = NOS |title = Oud-minister Kuipers naar universiteit in Singapore |trans-title = Former Minister Kuipers joins Singapore university }}
Electoral history
{{Incomplete list|date=December 2023}}
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" border=2 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="border: 1px #aaa solid; font-size: 90%; text-align:center;"
|+ {{sronly|Electoral history of Ernst Kuipers}} ! scope="col" rowspan=2 |Year ! scope="col" rowspan=2 |Body ! scope="col" colspan=2 rowspan=2 |Party ! scope="col" rowspan=2 |{{abbr|2=Position on the party list|Pos.}} ! scope="col" rowspan=2 |Votes ! scope="colgroup" colspan=2 |Result ! scope="col" rowspan=2 class="unsortable" |{{abbr|2=References|Ref}}. |
| scope="col" |Party seats
! scope="col" |Individual |
|---|
| scope="row" | 2023
| style="background-color:{{party color|Democrats 66}};"| | style=text-align:right | 74{{efn|Kuipers participated as a {{lang|nl|lijstduwer}}.}} | style=text-align:right | 682 | style=text-align:right | 9 | {{no2|Lost}} |
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Hugo de Jonge}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport|years=2022–2024}}
{{s-aft|after=Conny Helder}}
{{s-end}}
{{Ministers of Health of the Netherlands}}
{{Fourth Rutte cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuipers, Ernst}}
Category:20th-century Dutch physicians
Category:21st-century Dutch physicians
Category:21st-century Dutch politicians
Category:Democrats 66 politicians
Category:Dutch gastroenterologists
Category:Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Category:Ministers of health of the Netherlands
Category:Politicians from Meppel
Category:People from Noordoostpolder
Category:University of Groningen alumni
Category:Vanderbilt University faculty