On 1 February 2010, Ms Zsuzsanna Jakab took up her post as the new WHO Regional Director for Europe. She succeeded Dr Marc Danzon, who held the post for the previous 10 years.
Ms Jakab is managing a Regional Office with over 600 staff, 29 country offices, five out-posted centres and a biennial budget of US$ 261.9 million. She assumes responsibility for WHO's work in the 53 Member States in the WHO European Region. The 126th session of the WHO Executive Board approved her nomination as Regional Director on 19 January.
The Member States in the WHO European Region nominated Ms Zsuzsanna Jakab as Regional Director on 15 September 2009.
"I am deeply honoured and gratified by the trust and hope that the Member States of the European Region have placed in me by nominating me as the next WHO Regional Director for Europe," Ms Jakab told the Executive Board in her acceptance speech. "I will do everything I can to meet their high expectations, and in this respect look forward to continued guidance and support from the Member States, the Director-General and colleagues, as well as other partners."
In her speech, Ms Jakab also called for a new European public health policy - one that raises the visibility of public health concerns on government agendas and transforms health into a joined-up governmental responsibility.
"Today's challenges, in an increasingly globalized world, demand new ways of advocating, managing and responding to health and public health issues at all levels. It is clear that these are not 'business as usual' times for all those concerned," she argued.
A native of Hungary, Ms Zsuzsanna Jakab has held a number of high-profile national and international positions in public health policy in the last three decades. 
Between 1975 and 1991, Ms Jakab worked in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Hungary; she was responsible for external affairs, including relations with WHO.
In 1991, she moved to the WHO Regional Office for Europe, where she worked in various capacities, including coordinator of the Policy and Country and the EUROHEALTH programmes, and Director of the Country Health Development Department and the Division of Information, Evidence and Communication. In October 2000, she was appointed Director of the Division of Administration and Management Support at the Regional Office, taking responsibility for strategic and operational planning, the work of the WHO collaborating centres in Europe, legal matters and financial administration.
Ms Jakab moved back to Hungary in 2002 to become Secretary of State at the Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs, where she managed Hungary's preparations for European Union (EU) accession in the area of public health. She played a key role in the negotiations leading up to the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, held in Budapest in June 2004.
Between March 2005 and January 2010, Ms Jakab served as the founding Director of the EU's European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm, Sweden. During her five years at its helm, she built ECDC into an internationally respected centre of excellence in the fight against infectious diseases.
In her address to the WHO Executive Board, Ms Jakab spoke about her plans and ambitions for the coming years. 
"It is my vision to make the Regional Office a strong, respected and evidence-based European centre of public health excellence and innovation, with leadership in health policy and public health in Europe. A place that is ahead of developments and leads the way, so that it can more effectively anticipate, support and meet the needs of all its Member States," she said. "Europe's diversity is both its beauty and its strength, and its many and varied health needs are a challenge. The diversity of Europe is also an opportunity - as it is a unique reservoir of many innovative health policy and health systems solutions that we need to share better with each other and the world."
"The health divide in the European Region, growing inequities in health both within and between countries in the Region, in conjunction with the changing demographic and social landscape in Europe, are of greatest concern," said Ms Jakab.
"The combined challenges of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, the growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) and the health impact of climate change challenge us to develop and strengthen 21st-century public health tools and approaches," she argued. "I believe that the WHO Regional Office for Europe has a key role to play in addressing these challenges, as both a proactive leader and a robust partner when joint actions are needed. Importantly, we need to strengthen our ability to adapt effectively and efficiently to rapidly changing environments and take full advantage of the collective wisdom, experience and know-how of our vast and diverse Region - not only for the improved health of Europe but also for Europe's contribution to global health."
