ESSALUD: Elizabeth Tomas Gonzales de Palomino assumes the executive presidency

The State appointed Elizabeth Zulema Tomas Gonzales de Palomino as Executive President of the Social Health Insurance (ESSALUD), replacing Hilda Sandoval Cornejo. The decision was adopted by the Executive Branch through Supreme Resolution No. 038-2026-TR, signed in Lima on September 12, 2026, and published in the Legal Norms supplement of the Official Gazette El Peruano on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

The regulation, endorsed by the Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Juan Manuel Kosme Sheput Moore, and signed by the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, concludes the assignment held by Hilda Sandoval Cornejo, who is thanked for the services rendered.

Legal framework of the appointment

The appointment is based on Law No. 27056, the Law for the Creation of the Social Health Insurance (ESSALUD), which in its article 5, in accordance with article 9 of its Regulations approved by Supreme Decree No. 002-99-TR, establishes that the Board of Directors is the entity’s governing body, responsible for setting institutional policy and supervising its application.

The Board of Directors is composed, among others, of three representatives of the State, one of whom presides over it as Executive President. Pursuant to numeral 6.1 of article 6 of the aforementioned law, these representatives are appointed by Supreme Resolution endorsed by the Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion.

The measure is also framed within the following regulations:

• Law No. 29158, Organic Law of the Executive Branch.
• Law No. 27594, which regulates the participation of the Executive Branch in the appointment and designation of public officials.
• Law No. 29381, Law of Organization and Functions of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion.

Change in the leadership of ESSALUD

Through Supreme Resolution No. 037-2026-TR, the functions inherent to the position of Executive President of ESSALUD had been assigned to Hilda Sandoval Cornejo, in addition to her functions as a representative of the State before the Board of Directors, until a titular head was appointed.

With the new resolution, article 1 concludes that assignment and thanks the outgoing official for the services rendered. Article 2 appoints Elizabeth Zulema Tomas Gonzales de Palomino as the representative of the State before the Board of Directors, who will hold the position of Executive President. Article 3 specifies that the resolution is endorsed by the Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion.

Impact for the insured

The change in the leadership of ESSALUD directly affects the millions of insured members of the Peruvian public health system, as the Executive President presides over the body that defines the insurance’s institutional policy and supervises its application. The new head assumes the management of one of the most relevant social security entities in the country, responsible for providing health services to workers and their families.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, No. 19517, Sunday, September 13, 2026, Legal Norms section, page 15 (official reference: Supreme Resolution No. 038-2026-TR).