Julio Frenk | |
|---|---|
 Frenk in 2024 | |
| 7th Chancellor of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Gene Block Darnell Hunt (acting) |
| 6th President of theUniversity of Miami | |
| In office August 16, 2015 – June 12, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Donna Shalala |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Echevarria |
| 17thSecretary of Health of Mexico | |
| In office December 1, 2000 – November 30, 2006 | |
| President | Vicente Fox |
| Preceded by | José Antonio González Fernández |
| Succeeded by | José Ángel Córdova |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Julio José Frenk Mora (1953-12-20)December 20, 1953 (age 71) |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Carlos Frenk (brother) |
| Education | |
| Awards | Calderone Prize (2018) |
| Signature |  |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medical care organization; Sociology |
| Thesis | Social Origin, Professional Socialization, and Labor Market Dynamics: The Determinants of Career Preferences among Medical Interns in Mexico (1983) |
Julio José Frenk Mora (born December 20, 1953) is a Mexican public health scholar and sociologist, currently serving as the 7th chancellor of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since January 1, 2025.
Frenk graduated from theUniversity of Michigan in 1983 with aMaster of Public Health, aMaster of Arts in sociology, and a jointPhD in medical care organization and sociology. After that, he became a public servant at theMinistry of Health of Mexico and served as the 17thSecretary of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. He served as the 8th dean of theHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009 to 2015 and as the 6th president of theUniversity of Miami in Florida from 2015 to 2024.
Frenk was born on December 20, 1953, inMexico City. His father and grandfather, both of whom were physicians, wereJews who fled toMexico fromNazi Germany.[1] His mother was Alicia Josefina Mora Alfaro, a Mexican biochemist.[2]
Frenk received an undergraduatemedical degree from theNational Autonomous University of Mexico inMexico City in 1979. He then attended theUniversity of Michigan, where he received aMaster of Public Health in 1981, aMaster of Arts insociology in 1982, and a jointDoctor of Philosophy in medical care organization and sociology in 1983.
Frenk is the brother of famed Mexican astrophysicistCarlos Frenk.
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In 1984, Frenk was appointed director of the Centre of Public Health Research in theMinistry of Health of Mexico, a role he held until 1987. Following that, he went on to serve as the founding director general of Mexico'sInstituto Nacional de Salud Publica from 1987 to 1992. From 1995 to 1998, he served as executive vice president of the Mexican Health Foundation, a private non-profit organization, and director of the organization's Centre for Health and the Economy.
Frenk also has served in several academic roles, including as a senior researcher at the National Institute of Public Health and as adjunct professor of medicine and national researcher at theNational Autonomous University of Mexico inMexico City. In 1992–1993, he was visiting professor at theHarvard Center for Population and Development Studies atHarvard University'sHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
In 1993, he was an advisor on health reform for the government ofColombia, working alongside health economistFelicia Knaul. The two married in 1995, and settled in Mexico.[3]
In 1998, Frenk was appointed executive director of evidence and information for policy at theWorld Health Organization (WHO) inGeneva.
Frenk served as the 17thSecretary of Health of Mexico from December 2000 to November 2006.
Following the election ofVicente Fox inMexico's 2000 presidential election, Frenk was appointed minister of health of Mexico, a position he held until December 2006. In 2003, as Mexico's secretary of health, Frenk introduced a comprehensive national health insurance program called Seguro Popular, which expanded access to health care for tens of millions of previously uninsured Mexicans.[4]
In 2003, Frenk was among five final candidates for the position of director-general of theWorld Health Organization (WHO) alongsideLee Jong-wook,Pascoal Mocumbi,Peter Piot, and Ismail Sallam; Lee was eventually appointed the position.[5]
In 2004, Frenk was criticized by tobacco control advocates for his role in cutting an unusual deal with tobacco companies in whichPhilip Morris andBritish American Tobacco agreed to donate $400 million for health programs in Mexico over two and a half years but reserved the right to cancel the donation if cigarette taxes were raised[6]
In September 2006, the Mexican government again nominated Frenk as a candidate for the leadership of the World Health Organization.[7] The British medical journalThe Lancet published an editorial[8] endorsing Frenk as the best candidate whileThe Wall Street Journal reported that Frenk's controversial 2004 tobacco deal could hurt his chances for election.[6] Along withElena Salgado,Kazem Behbehani,Margaret Chan, andShigeru Omi, Frenk was one of the five finalists for the position, which was awarded to Chan in November 2006.
Frenk served as the 8th dean of theSchool of Public Health atHarvard University from 2009 to 2015.
Following his service as Mexico's minister of health, Frenk was tapped to serve as senior fellow in the global health program of theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he counseled the foundation on global health issues and strategies.
Frenk subsequently served as dean of the faculty at Harvard University's Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009 until 2015.[9] While at Harvard, he was also the T & G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health and International Development, a joint appointment made with theHarvard Kennedy School.[10] Under Frenk's leadership, Harvard's School of Public Health received its largest ever gift of $350 million and was renamedHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2014.[11]
In addition to his role as dean of Harvard School of Public Health, Frenk co-chaired, along with Lincoln Chen, the Commission on the Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century, which published its final report inThe Lancet in 2010. The report recommended that governments place the same emphasis on fightingcancer that they place on infectious diseases likeAIDS andmalaria.[12] He served on the High-Level Task Force for theInternational Conference on Population and Development, co-chaired byJoaquim Chissano andTarja Halonen, from 2012 to 2014.[13] In 2013, Frenk joinedVicente Fox and others in campaigning formarijuana legalization at a series of events in the United States and Mexico.[14]
In 2015, Frenk co-edited a collection of non-fiction essays on the subject ofglobal health, "To Save Humanity," which included work fromMichelle Bachelet,Larry Summers,Elton John, Frenk, and others.[15]
Frenk served as the 6th president of theUniversity of Miami in Florida from August 2015 to June 2024.
On April 13, 2015, the University of Miami announced the appointment of Frenk as the university's sixth president, succeedingDonna Shalala.[16] He was inaugurated on January 29, 2016.[17] In 2015, Frenk's salary as University of Miami president was $1.14 million.[18] The University of Miami joined theAssociation of American Universities during Frenk's tenure.[19]
On June 12, 2024, theUniversity of California, Los Angeles announced that Frenk would be joining the university as itschancellor on January 1, 2025.[20] The same day, the University of Miami announced that the university's chief executive officer, Joe Echevarria, had been appointed acting president of the University of Miami "effective immediately."[21]
Under Frenk's nine years of leadership of the University of Miami, the university slipped on theU.S. News & World Report's ranking of national universities, which ranked the university 48th in the nation upon his arrival in 2015[22] and 67th in the nation upon his departure in 2024.[23]
Frenk began his tenure as the 7th chancellor of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles on January 1, 2025.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by José Antonio González Fernández | 17thSecretary of Health 2000–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | 6th President of theUniversity of Miami 2015–2024 | Succeeded by Joseph J. Echevarria (acting) |
| Preceded by | 7th Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles 2025–present | Incumbent |
Laureates of theCalderone Prize | ||
|---|---|---|
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