Søren Brostrøm

Søren Brostrøm (born 4 June 1965) is a Danish physician-scientist specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology, who serves as the current Director General of the Danish Health Authority. In May 2021, Brostrøm was elected a member of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization by the World Health Assembly.[1][2]

Søren Brostrøm
R.
Director General of the Danish Health Authority
Assumed office
8 October 2015
DeputyHelene Bilsted Probst
Preceded byElse Smith[note 1]
Member of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization
Assumed office
28 May 2021
Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the European Regional Committee of the WHO
In office
September 2019[note 2] – September 2020
Deputy Executive President of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe
In office
September 2019 – September 2020
Preceded byIoannis Baskozos
Personal details
Born (1965-06-04) 4 June 1965
Aarhus, Denmark
Residence(s)Østerbro, Copenhagen
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen
Copenhagen Business School
Scientific career
FieldsObstetrics & Gynecology, Urogynecology
InstitutionsDanish Health Authority, Herlev Hospital, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Brostrøm has previously been a member (from 2017), Vice-chair (from 2018), and Chair (from 2019), of the Standing Committee of the European Regional Committee (SCRC),[3] as well as (ex officio) Deputy Executive President of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (69th session; 2019–2020).[4] He held these posts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as chairperson he led the committee's crisis management and response.[5][6][4]

Before becoming director general in 2015, Brostrøm served, from September 2011, as the Director of the Department of Hospitals and Emergency Management, also at the Danish Health Authority. Brostrøm worked as a chief physician at Herlev Hospital and as an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, before joining the Danish Health Authority.[7]

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Brostrøm became a prominent public figure in Denmark,[8] where he played a key role in the Danish response to COVID-19, which has been described as "one of the most successful in Europe."[9][10][11][12] In Denmark, he became widely known as the "corona general",[8][13][14][15][16] and was especially praised for his "directness and clarity with which he speaks" and his reliance on facts and logic.[17][18]

Early life and education

Søren Brostrøm was born in Aarhus in 1965, the second son of two medical doctors; his mother a paediatrician and his father a cancer researcher. He grew up in Risskov and Farsø. His father died in an accident when Brostrøm was 11 years old, and the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, where Brostrøm experienced different social conditions.[14] Brostrom said in a 2020-interview that "the tragedy has left an everlasting mark on me" and that life after his father's death was burdened by "both grief and a tough financial situation".[19]

In the early 1980s, Søren Brostrøm was the international secretary of the Danish Communist Youth League.[14] Brostrøm graduated from Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium in 1984.[20]

From an early age, he was interested in biology and mathematics. Brostrøm has said in connection with his profession and education that "although my parents were doctors, it was my own choice, but I was probably also very influenced by them."[21]

In 1995, Brostrøm received a Master of Science in Medicine (cand. med.)[22] degree from the University of Copenhagen. He completed his clinical clerkship at Holstebro Hospital in Holstebro, Denmark.[20] In 2003, he obtained his PhD degree in obstetrics and gynaecology, with a subspecialization in urogynecology, focused on laparoscopic pelvic surgery.[23][24][25] He completed a Master of Public Administration from the Copenhagen Business School in 2011.[26] In 2019, he completed a Senior Managers in Government (SMG) program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.[27]

His PhD thesis was on motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract dysfunction.[28]

Career

He made a career in several Copenhagen hospitals as a gynaecological surgeon and was one of the leading doctors in Europe in performing a special robotic-assisted operation in which the top of the vagina is stitched open.[29]

After his medical training, Brostrøm worked in 2007 as an attending physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Aarhus University Hospital Skejby. He then worked as a chief physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Glostrup Hospital from 2007 to 2008. From 2009 to 2011 he worked as a chief physician at the gynaecological-obstetric department at Herlev University Hospital.[30]

For two years from 2009 to 2011, Brostrøm worked concurrently as an associate professor at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (now part of the Department of Clinical Medicine) at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, and completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Copenhagen Business School.[20]

Danish Health Authority

In September 2011, Brostrøm joined the Danish Health Authority as the Director of the Department of Hospitals and Emergency Management, with broad responsibilities for the national planning of specialized hospital services, emergency services and preparedness, communicable diseases, immunization and screening programs as well as national action plans in the field of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, mental health etc.[24][31][26]

The responsibilities also included health preparedness and infectious diseases, which is where the Authority's pandemic preparedness lies. During the COVID-19 pandemic ten years later, Brostrøm would come to rely on the experience and knowledge he gained as department head.[14]

Director-General

In October 2015, Brostrøm was appointed Director General of the Danish Health Authority, which was immediately afterwards heavily reshaped by a comprehensive organizational change, where major areas such as patient safety, approval of medicines and handling of health data were placed in independent authorities.[32][33] The Danish Health Authority remained the overall authority.

One of his first major tasks was to complete the update of the specialty plan, which dictates which hospitals can perform complicated treatments and which cannot. It came into force in June 2017 after extensive committee work and many critical debates in medical circles.[29]

Public attention

Brostrøm came to public attention when the Danish Health Authority's HPV vaccination programme in 2014-15 experienced a sudden and large drop in uptake among the target group, girls and young women, who feared serious side effects. Brostrøm took responsibility for inadequate communication and did so in an open and personal manner, which has also been characteristic of his appearance at numerous press conferences and interviews in connection with the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

Personal life and interests

Brostrøm is interested in art, theatre and the opera.[34] Brostrøm is openly homosexual.[35]

HIV/AIDS impact on Brostrøm

Brostrom spoke in an interview in 2020 about how the HIV and AIDS global epidemic affected his youth: "HIV and AIDS is the disease I myself grew up with. Both as a young gay man and as a young medical student."[35] Brostrøm described how the disease came as a shock and put a damper on the free and uninhibited sexuality that had taken hold in the gay community throughout the 1960s and 70s.[35] Brostrøm said, "In 1992 I was in the US as part of (medical) school, and from that period I remember it very clearly. There was a lot of debate and the disease was shrouded in taboo. There were religious and conservative groups who called HIV and AIDS God's punishment on homosexuals. At that time I saw young beautiful men lying dead. People like myself."[35]

Memberships, chairmanships and organizational work

Brostrøm has been chairman and board member of a number of organizations. List:[27][34][36]

Danish
  • Member of the Board of the Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.[37]
  • 2001–2003: President of the Danish Association of Young Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (FYGO).
  • 2008–2011: President of the Danish FIGO-foundation.
  • 2018–2022: Member of the Board of the Danish Health Fund.[38]

Governmental

International
  • 2001–2002: Member of the Executive Committee of the European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ENTOG)
  • 2003–2005: President of the European Network of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ENTOG).[39]
  • 2003–2006: Board Member of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG).
  • 2008–2011: Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Urogynaecology Association (IUGA).
  • 2008–2011: President of the Nordic Urogynaecology Association (NUGA).
  • 2010–2012: Secretary general of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA).
  • 2012–2015: Member of the Health Security Committee (HSC) of the European Union

World Health Organization

Awards and honours

National

Selected works and publications

Journals

Books

Notes
  1. Jakob Cold served as interim Director General.
  2. Brostrøm was a member of the SCRC from 2017 and vice-chair from 2018.

References
  1. "Direktør Søren Brostrøm indtræder i WHO's globale bestyrelse". www.sst.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  2. "WHO | Composition of the Board". apps.who.int. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  3. "Membership of the Twenty-seventh Standing Committee of the Regional Committee 2019-2020" (PDF). WHO Regional Office for Europe. 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  4. "Report of the 69th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe" (PDF). WHO Regional Office for Europe. September 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  5. Report of the special session [COVID-19] (PDF). World Health Organization: Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe. 27 April 2020.
  6. "Statement - Dr Søren Brostrøm, Chairperson of the twenty-seventh Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe". www.euro.who.int. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  7. "Direktion" [The Executive Board]. Danish Health Authority (in Danish). Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  8. "Portræt: Coronageneralen, der blev offentligt eje". Dagens Medicin (in Danish). 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  9. "CNN.com - Transcripts". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04. a CNN analysis of data from Oxford University and Johns Hopkins University shows that Denmark was more successful than almost any other country in Europe(...)
  10. "Europe Versus Coronavirus - Putting the Danish Model to the Test". Institut Montaigne. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  11. Drugda, Simon (2020-11-25). "Resposta governamental a la pandèmia de la COVID-19 a Dinamarca" [Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark]. Revista Catalana de Dret Públic (Número Especial): 205–212. doi:10.2436/rcdp.i0.2020.3554. ISSN 1885-8252.
  12. Lauta, Kristian Cedervall (2020). "Something is Forgotten in the State of Denmark: Denmark's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic". Verfassungsblog: On Matters Constitutional (in German). doi:10.17176/20200504-133656-0. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  13. Mosbech, Hakon (2020-03-18). ""I den krise, vores samfund står i, fremstår han som en klippe af ro." Der er en grund til, at denne mand nu er landets uofficielle corona-general". Zetland (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  14. "Portræt: Ekskommunisten og elitelægen, der blev coronageneral". Altinget.dk (in Danish). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  15. Jensen, Henrik; Birk, Christian; Lund, Michael (2020-05-28). "Interne dokumenter afslører strid om coronastrategi: »Politikerne har villet udvise handlekraft for enhver pris – uanset eksperternes rådgivning«". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  16. Journalist, Af Martin Ejlertsen. "Regeringen til Sundhedsstyrelsen: Læg fagligheden på hylden". DM Akademikerbladet (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  17. Jensen, Morten. "How Denmark Is Navigating The Coronavirus Crisis". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  18. "Ekskommunisten og elitelægen, der blev coronageneral". Altinget.dk (in Danish). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  19. Rasmussen, Benedikte Christine (2020-03-12). "Søren Brostrøm: Min fars tidlige død har sat varige spor". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  20. Markussen, Jesper (2020-12-31). "Da Søren Brostrøm endte i Holstebro, og byen blev hængende i direktøren". dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  21. Lange, Mathilde Marie (2021-01-22). "Søren Brostrøm om sit valg af uddannelse: »Jeg er vokset op i en lægefamilie«". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  22. Frydenlund, Sally (2022-04-13). "Søren Brostrøm: »Jeg er jo gået hen og blevet sådan en slags skabs-djøflæge«". Uniavisen. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  23. "Søren Brostrøm". www.altinget.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  24. "Søren Brostrøm". Danish Health Authority - www.sst.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  25. "Søren Brostrøm - Ehealthresearch.no (NO)". ehealthresearch.no. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  26. "Søren Brostrøm | Copenhagen 2020". Copenhagen 2020 | International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare site. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  27. "Nomination for Membership of the Executive Board of the WHO - Curriculum vitae: Søren Brostrøm" (PDF). Regional Committee for Europe: 70th Session. 9 September 2020. p. 17. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  28. Brostrøm, Søren (2003). "Motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor". Neurourology and Urodynamics. 22 (7): 620–637. doi:10.1002/nau.10151. ISSN 1520-6777. PMID 14595605. S2CID 9427779.
  29. "Søren Brostrøm | lex.dk". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  30. Ritzau (2020-03-13). "Kaptajnen på corona-beredskabets skib". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  31. "Søren Brostrøm – Vidensbanken om kønsidentitet" (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  32. "The Danish Ministry of Health has appointed three new Directors General". Danish Medicines Agency. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  33. "Sundhedsministeriet har fundet tre nye direktører for styrelser". Dagens Medicin (in Danish). 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  34. Rasmussen, Jonas Gamrath (2015-06-12). "Bokseren". Dagens Medicin (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  35. Bergløv, Emil (2020-09-19). "Søren Brostrøms stjernestatus blev tydelig på museumstur". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  36. "Søren Brostrøm får toppost i WHO". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  37. Nielsen, Birgitte Bruun, ed. (August 2001). Danny Svane. "DSOG Medlemsbladet" [Member Journal of the Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.]. DSOG Bladet. Dansk Selskab for Obstetrik og Gynækologi [Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology] (22): 6. ISSN 1601-1627.
  38. "Bestyrelse" [the Board of Governors]. Helsefonden (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  39. "History – ENTOG". entog.eu. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  40. "Modtagere af danske dekorationer" [Recipients of Danish decorations]. Kongehuset (in Danish). 2017-12-12. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
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