Heiko Echter von der Leyen (born 2 June 1955) is a German physician. He was born into the von der Leyen family in Hanover, which belonged to the German nobility. Von der Leyen is married to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission since 2019.
Early life
editBorn in 1955, he is the son of physician Ulrich von der Leyen (1918–1992) and his wife Cornelia Maria née Groth (1922–2014). Von der Leyen's family are Lutheran members of the Evangelical Church of Germany.
Career
editVon der Leyen studied Medicine at the University of Hamburg before pursuing further studies at Hanover Medical School. From 1992 to 1996, he was a faculty member of Stanford University.[1] He received his Habilitation doctorate at Hanover Medical School in 1998, and was appointed Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine and Experimental Cardiology at Hanover Medical School in 2002.
Von der Leyen became the Director of Hanover Clinical Trial Center GmbH in 2005; Hanover Clinical Trial Center (HCTC) is an academic clinical research organization on the campus of Hanover Medical School.[2] Since December 2020, he is Medical Director of the company Orgenesis, which specialises in cell and gene therapies.[3] Von der Leyen resigned from his position on the supervisory board of Orgenesis in October 2022, after journalists reported that the Italian branch of Orgenesis had received EU research funds in the past.[4][5]
Personal life
editIn 1986, Heiko married Ursula, by birth a member of the Albrecht family. They have seven children.[6][7] The family lived for four years in Stanford, California during the 1990s.[8]
References
edit- ^ Badenschier, Franziska (9 May 2007). "Streit über Stammzellgesetz: Kleines Forschungsgebiet sorgt für großes Brimborium – DER SPIEGEL – Wissenschaft". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Medizinische Hochschule Hannover : Koordinationszentrum für klinische Studien HCTC – KKS". www.mhh.de. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Kivi, Emmi (19 July 2024). "No, Ursula von der Leyen's husband does not work for a company owned by Pfizer". Logically Facts. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Martuscelli, Carlo (10 March 2023). "EU transparency commissioner: No conflict of interest for Ursula von der Leyen's husband". POLITICO EU. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Benedetti, Francesca De (28 October 2022). "Ursula von der Leyen's husband leaves the Padua research center funded by the PNRR". www.editorialedomani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Conradi, Peter (24 December 2020). "Ursula von der Leyen: Anglophile has seven children, loves punk and went to Boris Johnson's school". The Times. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Macdonald, Hamish; Kesteven, Sophie; Muller, Greg; LoPresti, Linda (20 September 2023). "How a young girl destined to become a 'housewife at the side of a powerful man' instead grew up to lead Europe through crisis". ABC News Australia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Nordstrom, Louise (16 July 2019). "Controversial at home, lauded abroad: Ursula von der Leyen to head EU Commission". France 24. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.