Josep Figueras Marimont (born in Medinya, 16 September 1959) is a health policy expert and retired international civil servant. He served as the director of the

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is a public health observatory established through an intergovernmental partnership, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, which specialises in the devel ...

until his retirement in December 2024.

Biography

Born in

Medinyà Medinyà is a town in the comarca of Gironès in Catalonia. Between June 2015 and January 2018 it was an independent municipality, but has now reverted to forming part of the municipality of Sant Julià de Ramis. The town is located at the junctio ...

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, Spain, Josep was educated at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

where he received his medical degree with honors in 1983, after which he specialized in family medicine in 1987 at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

. He proceeded to move to the United Kingdom where he obtained a Master of Public Health from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and a MSc and Ph.D. (econ) in health planning and financing from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

, wherefore he worked as a lecturer and MSc course director in Health Services Management and Policy.

Professional career

He was the Unit Head for the European Centre for Health Policy of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

, later known as the

, a health policy research partnership of several governments and institutions. In this capacity, he advised in more than 40 countries within the European region and beyond and has served the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. He is part of several governing, advisory and editorial boards, including the European Health Forum Gastein. He is currently a visiting professor at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Health systems and policies research

His research focuses on comparative health system and policy analysis. He is an editor of the Observatory series published by the

Open University Press McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, and has published a wide range of volumes in this field, most recently: “Strengthening Health System Governance: Better policies, stronger performance” (2017); “Health systems governance” (2015); “Economic crisis: impact and implications for health systems policy in Europe” (2014); “Health systems, health and wealth: assessing the case for investing in health systems” (2012); “Health professional mobility and health systems. Evidence from 17 European countries” (2011); and “Cross-border health care in the European Union. Mapping and analyzing practices and policies” (2011). He is the originator and editor of the Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series, which introduces health systems in a common comparative framework.

Honors and awards

Figueras is an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (United Kingdom) and was Director of the MSc in Health Services Management and lecturer at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The institu ...

. In 2006 he received the Andrija Stampar Medal for excellence in Public Health and a Doctorate Honoris Causa from

Semmelweis University Semmelweis University (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences. ...

in 2016. Figueras has twice been awarded the European Health Management Association (EHMA) prize for the best annual publication on policy and management.http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/374659/obs-20th-anniversary-eng.pdf?ua=1

Select Bibliography

* Saltman, Richard B., Josep Figueras, and World Health Organization. "European health care reform: analysis of current strategies." (1997).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueras, Josep 1959 births Living people People from Girona University of Barcelona alumni Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Leeds University of Valencia alumni World Health Organization officials 20th-century Spanish physicians 21st-century Spanish physicians