A French pharmacist, Mr Fernand Sauer, has been appointed director responsible for public health policy in the European Commission's directorate-general for health and consumer protection.
Mr Sauer has been executive director of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) since its creation in 1994. He will move to his new post on December 1. His successor at the EMEA is expected to be appointed at the next EMEA management board meeting on September 27.
Mr Sauer started his career as a hospital pharmacist. He then became a pharmaceutical inspector for the French health ministry. He joined the staff of the European Commission in 1979 and became head of its pharmaceuticals unit in 1986.