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Bruno Bruins, Mark Rutte, and Jaap van Dissel at a press conference introducing new rules regarding coronavirus.
Healthcare Minister Bruno Bruins, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and RIVM Director Jaap van Dissel at a press conference introducing new rules regarding coronavirus. March 12, 2020 - Credit: RVD
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De Volkskrant
Jaap van Dissel
Kim Putters
Herna Verhagen
Sunday, 13 December 2020 - 09:50

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Virologist ranked second most influential person in The Netherlands

Chairman of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) Jaap van Dissel was announced the second most influential person in the Netherlands. This was shown in de Volkskrant’s annual ranking of the 200 most influential Dutch People.

Van Dissel was the highest new entrant on the list that de Volkskrant has conducted for the past fifteen years. The 63-year-old is mainly in charge of handling the coronavirus epidemic in the Netherlands. Feike Sijbesma came in third. He is the current cabinet envoy for coronavirus related matters.

The first place went to Kim Putters. The 47-year-old director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) tops the list for the second year in a row.

The list consists of 126 male and 74 female candidates. The highest-ranking woman was Herna Verhagen, director for the national mail company PostNL, who came in fifth.

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