Lieutenant Colonel Doctor António Granda d'Almeida has been chosen to be the new executive director of the National Health Service, as announced this Wednesday by the Ministry of Health.  The appointment took place after the Government received, on Tuesday, "the activity report of the Executive Directorate of the National Health Service (DE – SNS) which will now be subject to analysis by the Ministry of Health".  "In his resignation request, Professor Fernando Araújo requested to remain in office until this report was delivered to the supervisory authority and, thus, once his duties have ended, the Ministry of Health will immediately proceed to appoint the new executive director of the SNS", explained the authority led by Ana Paula Martins, in a statement sent to newsrooms. The composition of the remaining team of the Executive Directorate of the SNS (DE-SNS) will be announced "soon" and the names "will be submitted to the Recruitment and Selection Committee for Public Administration (CReSAP)". "The Government thanks Professor Fernando Araújo and his team for the work carried out in the SNS and wishes them the greatest professional and personal success", it also reads. The appointment takes place about a month after Fernando Araújo announced his resignation from the position of executive director of the SNS, claiming that he did not want to be an obstacle to the Government in the policies and measures it deems necessary. The resignation of the DE-SNS motivated a request from the PS parliamentary bench for Fernando Araújo to be heard by the Health Committee, which will take place this Wednesday morning. It should be noted that the executive directorate began its activity on January 1, 2023, following the new Statute of the National Health Service (SNS) proposed by then-minister Marta Temido, with the aim of coordinating the healthcare response of all SNS units and modernizing its management. Who is António Granda d'Almeida, the new executive director of the SNS? The executive director of the SNS "has extensive experience in medical emergencies and, in the Armed Forces, has held leadership and coordination roles", in addition to having been director of the Northern regional delegation of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), between 2021 and January 31. He is currently "commander of the Health Group and carries out hospital and pre-hospital healthcare activities". António Gandra d'Almeida graduated in Medicine from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and, "his academic and professional specialization includes complementary training at the Military Academy, a Postgraduate Degree in Military Health, the European Master in Disaster Medicine and the specialty in General Surgery, as well as the Competence in Health Services Management, Emergency and Military Medicine by the Order of Physicians". According to the ministry, António Gandra d’Almeira was placed in "different units and bodies of the Army and in the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA) with leadership and coordination functions". He was also responsible for the Greenways of the INEM's Central Region, from 2014 to 2019, and was in charge of the installation and coordination of the VMER – Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle of Barreiro, between 2016 and 2018, in addition to having performed "team leadership functions in the Emergency service" and participated "in several multi-victim and catastrophe events, with coordination functions or as an operational, in addition to international humanitarian support missions". [News updated at 08:18] Also Read: SNS executive director met with the Ministry of Health today (Portuguese version)