In brief
The WHO has received nominations from seven member states for its next director‑general, including former ministers and regional directors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Spain, Indonesia, China, and an Armenian pediatric oncologist. Candidates will engage in two public forums at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, followed by executive‑board interviews that will narrow the field to five before a final shortlist of up to three is presented to the World Health Assembly. The Assembly is scheduled to elect the new director‑general in May 2027, with the office holder taking duty on 16 August 2027.
Seven candidates have been nominated by member states to become the next director‑general of the World Health Organization, with a selection process that includes two public forums, executive‑board interviews, and a World Health Assembly vote in May 2027.
The nominees represent a broad geographic spectrum and a mix of political and technical experience. Hanan Mohammed Al‑Kuwari of Qatar is a former health minister and adviser to the prime minister on public health; Hanan Balkhy of Saudi Arabia serves as WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean; Hans Henri P. Kluge of Belgium is WHO’s regional director for Europe. Maria P. Neira of Spain is a former director of WHO’s environment and health department, while Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin brings domestic leadership experience. China’s Li Song is the secretary of the All‑China Women’s Federation and a former senior health official. The seventh candidate is Gevorg Tamamyan of Armenia, a pediatric oncologist and professor at Yerevan State Medical University, nominated by Botswana.
In the field of global health governance, a public forum is a structured meeting where candidate representatives present their visions and answer questions from member‑state delegations. This mechanism is intended to foster transparency and allow qualified candidates to discuss policy priorities, in a setting that mimics a national parliamentary debate but on an international stage. WHO’s executive board—an 18‑member committee staffed by senior officials—will use the information gathered in the forums to assess each nominee’s suitability before narrowing the field.
According to the agency’s announcement, the first public forum will run from 18 to 19 November 2026 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, where all seven nominees will present to the delegation of each member state. After the forum, the executive board will review the material and, in early 2027, filter the initial group down to five candidates. These shortlisted nominees will then attend a second public forum scheduled for 15 March 2027, providing a final opportunity for delegates to deliberate and ask further questions.
Once the executive board has identified up to three final candidates, the names will be forwarded to the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s governing body made up of representatives from all 194 member states. The Assembly is slated to appoint the new director‑general during its convening in May 2027, following the vote of a simple majority. The person elected will assume office on 16 August 2027, succeeding Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The process reflects WHO’s intent to balance technical competence with political sensitivity, incorporating both expert assessment and member‑state engagement at public forums. By allowing delegations to interact directly with the nominees, the agency aims to ensure that the individual who ultimately leads the global health institution can garner broad support for WHO’s strategic agenda.
While the selection period will span several months, the timeline set out by WHO places the final appointment in the first quarter of 2027, with the new director‑general beginning on a fixed date to maintain continuity of leadership and program implementation across the organization’s 149 affiliated institutions worldwide.
