Former Health Min. Ernst Kuipers now working for university in Singapore

A month and a half after his sudden resignation, it has become clear why Ernst Kuipers stepped down as the outgoing Minister of Public Health, Welfare, and Sports. He has taken a job at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, the university announced on Thursday.

The NTU appointed Kuipers as its new Vice President of Research, also giving him the rank of Distinguished University Professor. That is “the highest rank at NTU bestowed upon faculty members with extraordinary scholarly achievements that typically span multiple disciplinary boundaries,” the university said.

The university described Kuipers as “a renowned gastroenterologist, healthcare executive, and former Minister of Health.” Kuipers starts there on May 1.

On January 10, Kuipers suddenly resigned as outgoing Minister of Public Health, Welfare, and Sports with immediate effect. He said he was taking up “a position abroad” but gave no further details.

According to NOS, this is Kuipers' second position in Singapore. In 2021, he became the first foreign board member of the National University Health System (NUHS), in addition to his job as chairman of the board of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam.