Nora Berra

From 2009 to 2012, Nora Bella served as the Minister of Elderly Affairs and Minister of Health in France. She was appointed by President Sarkozy as the head of one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world. Her career began in Lyon Public Hospital, where she dedicated nearly 20 years as a doctor to fight against AIDS. Afterwards, she entered the public service sector, initially as an elected representative of Lyon in 2008, and later as an elected representative of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014. In 2010, she was appointed as the Minister of National Health. As the Minister of Elderly Affairs of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Bella has focused her work on population aging, by developing an innovative and comprehensive political approach to make people believe that population aging is also an opportunity for social and economic development. Bella, as the Minister of Health, has successfully dealt with some important medical crises and, in the process, maintained the confidence of French citizens in their healthcare system. She has carried out a series of institutional reforms, including the launch of major public health projects, in order to better respond to the challenges of the 21st century in the French healthcare system. In addition, she has also implemented a new model of hospital financing.