José Ignacio Echániz Salgado

José Ignacio Echániz Salgado has a Degree in Medicine and Surgery. He has been member of the College of Physicians since 1989. He has a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the Instituto de Empresa (IE) and postgraduate studies in USA and The Netherlands. He specialized in Health Economy and Health Management and has a Diploma in Higher Studies of National Defence (CESEDEN). He is currently member of the board, senior advisor, and consultant in different councils, professional and academic projects and member of the Advisory Board of the Círculo de Empresarios. He is also an active lecturer in health and technology. He was Chief Health Advisor in the Madrid City Council participating in the implementation of SAMUR (Emergency Health Service), and Minister of Health of Madrid, leading the transfer of health care responsibilities from the central to the regional government. He was also Minister of Health and Social Affairs of the Region of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, and National Legislator responsible for the area of Health. He was member for eight years of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, responsible for the management of a healthcare budget of 50,000 million euros. He has been Chairperson of the Defence Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Parliament, member of the National Security Committee, former Chairperson of the IPU Standing Committee on Peace and International Security in Geneva and World Vice-President of the IPU Geneva. Former Auditor and Consultant in Andersen Consulting (Accenture), and President of the World Health Commission (AGH) of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global organizations (UN, UNESCO). He was also Member of the Committee for Ethic and Bioethics of the Spanish Commission of the UNESCO, President and Founder of the Madrid Health Service (SERMAS), President and Founder of the ‘Instituto Madrileño de la Salud”, IMSALUD, President and Founder of the ‘Instituto de Salud Pública de la Comunidad de Madrid’ and President of several hospitals. He was Vice President of Fundación Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos para la Investigación y la Integración and Member of the jury of several awards in the health sector (Rey Jaime I Awards together with several Nobel Prizes, Barea Awards, among others).