Espen Rostrup Nakstad (born 1975) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, lawyer and author from

Skjetten Skjetten is a town in Lillestrøm municipality, Viken county, Norway. It is located approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Oslo's city centre with a population of 10 000. Skjetten has five kindergartens, two primary schools and a secondary schoo ...

who is the current assistant director of the

Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs ( no, Sosial- og helsedirektoratet) is a specialised directorate for health and social affairs. The Directorate is an integral part of the central administration of health and social affairs i ...

Medical career

Nakstad earned a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in medicine from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

and is specialized in

respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...

and internal medicine. In 2018 he issued a book on

disaster preparedness Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

together with Bjørn Bjelland, ''Beredskap, kriseledelse og praktisk skadestedsarbeid''. He leads the

CBRNE Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...

Centre at

Ullevål Hospital Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...

Oslo University Hospital Oslo University Hospital ( no, Oslo universitetssykehus; OUS) is a university hospital in Oslo, Norway. With over 24,000 employees it is List of hospitals by staff, the largest hospital organization in Europe. It is affiliated with the University o ...

. Among others, he led Ullevål Hospital's response when a Norwegian citizen affected by the

2014 ebola outbreak Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

was flown home to Norway.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the entire leadership of the Norwegian Directorate of Health was quarantined, and Nakstad was brought in as acting assistant director on 14 March 2020. His Norwegian work title was shortened to "fung.ass." (lit. "funct oningass stantdirector"), which became a popular moniker when referring to Nakstad on social media. He was praised for his communication skills in several crisis briefings, especially his espousing security and "stoic calmness".

Personal life

A twin, Nakstad lost his twin brother in a helicopter crash in 2014. He is a nephew of Morten Rostrup of the

Doctors Without Borders Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakstad, Espen Rostrup 1975 births Living people People from Skedsmo University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Oslo University Hospital people Norwegian twins