Elizabeth Kuiper is Associate Director and Head of the Health and Societal Resilience Programme at the European Policy Centre.  

Beyond her role as an Associate Director, Elizabeth heads the EPC's Health and Societal Resilience Programme. Her focus is on society’s ability to recover from crises and economic shocks, linking up the EPC's research on economic security and EU health policy; the societal implications of AI; the future of work; inequalities, gender policies and women’s health. 

Before joining the EPC, Elizabeth was Executive Director Public Affairs at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), where she was leading the organisation’s advocacy and external engagement strategy and maintained a strong network of contacts with policymakers and other stakeholders. Amongst others, she led the industry’s Brexit Task Force and created the Brexit4Patients multistakeholder coalition, to ensure that patients’ interest were put first in the Brexit negotiations.  

In 2010, Elizabeth transferred to the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU in Brussels. There, she represented the Netherlands’ interests on health policies, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. She led negotiations on several key regulations, and she monitored the European Semester process, ensuring the implementation of Country Specific Recommendations at the national level. During her tenure at the Permanent Representation, she was responsible for briefing the Coreper-I Ambassador on healthcare related files and advised and supported senior officials and government Ministers on EU negotiations. She also represented the Netherlands at relevant public/stakeholder events.

Early in her career, she served as a political advisor to the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports in the Balkenende-IV cabinet. She was responsible for managing relations with Members of Parliament and offered political advice and support to the Minister of Health on issues related to healthcare and social policies. In this role, Elizabeth regularly accompanied and assisted the Minister in Brussels for EPSCO Councils, as well as in Member States holding the Council of the Presidency of the European Union for informal meetings of Health Ministers. She also assisted the Minister of Health in his engagement with US policymakers in the context of ongoing discussions about the Health Care Reform legislation, eventually leading to the adoption of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.  

With extensive experience as a moderator and facilitator, she has successfully led debates with diverse partners and audiences, and frequently makes appearances on international media.

Elizabeth lives in Brussels and enjoys reading political biographies and visiting contemporary art exhibitions as much as she can. She also fights fast fashion in her capacity as Brand Ambassador for a sustainable fashion brand.